Guarded optimism in India as Trump and Modi outline plans to deepen defense partnership
SRINAGAR, India, Feb 15, (AP): There was guarded optimism among military experts in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump outlined plans to ramp up sales of defense systems to New Delhi, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, to deepen the US-India strategic relationship. "Defense sector is a big money, and India happens to be one of the top buyers in the world,' said Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, India's director-general for military operations from 2012 to 2014.
"As long as we buy, Trump will be happy but it's surely going to expand our conventional deterrence.' The meeting signaled that "defense diplomacy is the core of diplomacy these days," Bhatia said. In a joint statement at the White House, the two leaders announced plans to sign a new 10-year framework later this year for the US-India Major Defense Partnership. Modi and Trump "pledged to elevate military cooperation across all domains - air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace - through enhanced training, exercises, and operations, incorporating the latest technologies,' the statement said.
The leaders also "committed to break new ground to support and sustain the overseas deployments of the US and Indian militaries in the Indo-Pacific, including enhanced logistics and intelligence sharing," the statement said. While Indian military experts have long sought to diversify national defense procurements, analysts say it will take years to reduce New Delhi's dependency on Russian arms, even with expanded defense cooperation with the US Raja Mohan, an analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore, said expansion in defense cooperation would take time.
"What India wants is coproduction and more research and development in India. It's a long-term project,' he said. It is difficult for India to remain dependent on Russia for defense equipment owing to difficulties obtaining parts and upgrades. However, a deal with the US for F-35 stealth fighter jets will not fill India's immediate need for more than 100 aircraft, said Rahul Bedi, an independent defense analyst based in India.
"They are not going to come tomorrow,' Bedi said. "It's going to take several years to start arriving,' he added. As its geostrategic competition with China has grown manifold in recent years, India has diversified defense acquisitions from the US, Israel and France while seeking to move toward self-reliance in this sector. But New Delhi is still far from getting over its dependence on supplies and spare parts from Russia that makes up to 60% of Indian defense equipment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
2 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Colombian presidential contender has successful surgery after shooting
BOGOTA: A prominent Colombian right-wing presidential candidate who was shot during a campaign event in Bogota has successfully undergone initial surgery, the city's mayor said Sunday. Thirty-nine-year-old Senator Miguel Uribe was speaking to supporters in the capital when a gunman shot him twice in the head and once in the knee before being detained. A security guard managed to detain the suspected attacker, a minor who is believed to be 15 years old. Uribe was airlifted to hospital in "critical condition" and underwent a "neurosurgical" and "peripheral vascular procedure," the Santa Fe Clinic in Bogota confirmed. He "overcame the first surgical procedure," Bogota mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told media, adding that he had entered "the critical hours" of recovery. His wife, in an audio recording shared with media, said "he came out well from the surgery." "He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life," she is heard saying. Images from the scene of the shooting showed Uribe slumped against the hood of a white car, smeared with blood, as a group of men tried to hold him and stop the bleeding. The suspect was injured in the affray and was receiving treatment, said police director Carlos Fernando Triana. Two others -- a man and a woman -- were also wounded, and a Glock-style firearm was seized. "Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts," Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP as she prayed with candles for Uribe's health. 'Day of pain' The motive for the attack is not yet publicly known. Colombia's defense minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to use law enforcement's full capabilities and offered a roughly US$725,000 reward for information about who was behind the shooting. In a video address to the nation posted on social media, President Gustavo Petro also promised investigations to find the perpetrators of the "day of pain". "What matters most today is that all Colombians focus with the energy of our hearts, with our will to live ... on ensuring that Dr Miguel Uribe stays alive." In an earlier statement, Petro condemned the violence as "an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia." The shooting was similarly condemned across the political spectrum and from overseas, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it "a direct threat to democracy." But Rubio also pointed blame at Petro, claiming the attack was the "result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government." "President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials," the top US diplomat said. Uribe, a strong critic of Petro, is a member of the Democratic Center party, which announced last October his intention to run in the 2026 presidential election. Authorities said there was no specific threat made against the politician before the incident. Like many public figures in Colombia, Uribe had close personal protection. The country is home to several armed guerrilla groups, powerful cartels and has a long history of political violence. Shot 'from behind' Uribe is the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel. One of his grandfathers was president Julio Cesar Turbay, who led the country from 1978 to 1982. Supporters gathered outside the Bogota hospital, lighting candles and clutching crucifixes as they prayed for his recovery. Uribe's party said in a statement Saturday that an "armed individual" had shot the senator from behind. The party leader, former president Alvaro Uribe, described the shooting as an attack against "a hope for the country." Miguel Uribe -- who is not related to Alvaro -- has been a senator since 2022. He previously served as Bogota's government secretary and city councilor. He also ran for city mayor in 2019, but lost that election.--AFP
Kuwait Times
2 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Trump deploys National Guard over LA immigration protests
LOS ANGELOS: Donald Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to the streets of Los Angeles on Saturday in what the White House said was an effort to quell "lawlessness" after sometimes-violent protests erupted over immigration enforcement raids. The US president took federal control of California's state military to push soldiers into the country's second-biggest city, where they could face off against demonstrators. It is a rare move that Governor Gavin Newsom said was "purposefully inflammatory." The development came after two days of confrontations that had seen federal agents shoot flash-bang grenades and tear gas towards crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants in a city with a large Latino population. Footage showed a car that had been set alight at a busy intersection, while in video circulating on social media a man in a motorbike helmet can be seen throwing rocks at speeding federal vehicles. In other scenes, demonstrators threw fireworks at lines of local law enforcement who had been called in to try to keep the peace. "President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, blaming what she called California's "feckless" Democratic leaders. "The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs." 'Purposefully inflammatory' The National Guard -- a reserve military -- is frequently used in natural disasters, like in the aftermath of the LA fires, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local politicians. That was not the case Saturday. Newsom, a frequent foil for Trump and a long-time foe of the Republican, took to social media to decry Saturday's White House order. "That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle. Don't give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully." US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said guardsmen would be in place "within the next 24 hours." Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to ramp up tensions further, warning that nearby regular military forces could get involved. "If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized -- they are on high alert," he wrote on social media. Law professor Jessica Levinson said Hegseth's intervention appeared symbolic because of the general legal restriction on the use of the US military as a domestic policing force in the absence of an insurrection. "At this moment, it's not using the Insurrection Act," she said, rather Trump was relying on what is known as Title 10. "The National Guard will be able to do (no) more than provide logistical (and) personnel support." Arrests Since taking office in January, Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants -- who he has likened to "monsters" and "animals." The Department for Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles this week had resulted in the arrest of "118 aliens, including five gang members." Saturday's standoff took place in the suburb of Paramount, where demonstrators converged on a reported federal facility, which the local mayor said was being used as a staging post by agents. On Friday, masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged that some city residents were "feeling fear" following the federal immigration enforcement actions. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable," she said on X. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday's clashes. "You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail," he said on X. On Saturday, amid chants for ICE agents to get out, some protesters waved Mexican flags while others set a US flag on fire, the Los Angeles Times reported. Cement blocks and overturned shopping carts served as crude roadblocks. The White House has taken a hard line against the protests, with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calling them "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States."--AFP
Arab Times
9 hours ago
- Arab Times
Mexican police kill 4 gunmen, cross into Guatemala in dramatic border shootout
TAPACHULA, Mexico, June 10, (AP): Mexican state police killed four gunmen near the border with Guatemala, then pursued more suspects into that country in three armored police vehicles, where they engaged in a shootout in the streets of a border town. Authorities in both countries said Monday they were investigating. The rare case of Mexican law enforcement crossing the border into Guatemala on Sunday in La Mesilla was captured by onlookers in videos widely circulated online. With the border crossing a short distance in the background, armed men in ballistic vests and carrying rifles can be seen shouting at the open driver side door of a Chiapas state police armored vehicle. Suddenly, another such vehicle comes speeding through the border crossing from behind, scattering the armed men. The initial vehicle reverses back toward Mexico and a third armored police vehicle enters from a side street slamming a civilian vehicle into the side of the other armored police truck. Gunfire erupts with the police trucks and civilian vehicles getting hit by bullets. All the while, a Guatemalan military truck with a soldier in the turret, sits in the middle of the melee. It was the latest flare-up of violence along a section of the border that has become a flashpoint as rival Mexican drug cartels and their local affiliates battle for control of valuable smuggling routes for migrants, guns and drugs. Asked about the events, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that everything appeared to show that Mexican authorities entered Guatemala. "They are investigating it and it is not all right that has happened,' she said. Chiapas state Gov. Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar criticized what he suggested were Guatemalan authorities protecting members of organized crime. His security chief, Oscar Aparicio Avendaño, told The Associated Press on Monday that police had used a drone to detect armed men crossing the border into Mexico. Police intercepted them, killing four, including a local gang leader. "They try to cross (back to Guatemala) to evade justice and that's where we intercept them and there's the shooting,' Ramírez said. The police involved were part of a state police force called the Pakales, which have also been accused of wrongdoing. Across the border in Guatemala, authorities were cautious in their initial response.
