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| US willing to provide national security waiver to India | | | The United States is willing to provide
to India national security waiver so that Washington retains cordial ties with New Delhi. The need for providing national security waiver to India has surfaced following India's deal for buying S-400 air defence missile system from Russia. In fact the US authorities want to provide a special treatment to India so that the improving ties between the US and India do not get affected at all. And this is the crux of the Defence Secretary Jim Mattis' appeal to Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).The way the US will be hit if the US does not provide India national security waiver could provoke India to cancel its plan to buy scores of drones from the USA and this way the US Defence sector would be hit hard.
CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advanced stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimated USD 4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. "There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers. But given the situation that India is faced with the problem of terror being exported by Pakistan New Delhi does require some US concession.
Whether Modi is able to buy peace with XI Jinping, during an informal meeting with the Chinese President, is hard to debate because nothing is dependable on China. That too when Pakistan has the potential of dictating do's and don'ts to China not as a super power but as a country that has given enough space to China for setting military bases in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir. As long as Pakistan is a main recipient of military and economic aid from China Beijing may not wish to disappoint Islamabad. And Pakistan would be happy if India is not able to buy S-400 worth 4.5 billion dollars from Russia because Islamabad does not want to upgrade the defence mechanism by India. Knowing that India would use these Russian missle system against Islamabad and its Armed forces it would be happy if the US imposes sanctions against India which may not be reality for Pakistan. Despite the fact that India is known by its non-alignment policy and that should be the reason for buying drones from the USA and missiles defence system from Russia. And if the US lawmakers do not allow concessions to India New Delhi may be forced to give up its non-alignment policy and bank on the Russian missle and other weapons. |
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