NEW DELHI: For those in India galvanized by the sale of the BrahMos missile to the Philippines, take a breather. Elections there are less than two months away and going by the precedence in many democracies, big-ticket agreements or sales are generally put on hold for the next government to decide upon. Actually this suits India well. Although this country is not known to be a major arms exporter, the BrahMos sale has put the world on notice and that kind of attention may sit uncomfortably with India which would prefer to focus more on its IT expertise and various non-military forms of aid and assistance.
In that sense, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s two-day visit (February 13-15) to the Philippines was useful in terms of bringing the focus on some Indian domestic success stories that could be exported. The two countries have been discussing cooperation in the banking and financial sectors with Manila expressing interest in India’s United Payment Interface (UPI). There is a larger plan here that seeks to tap into India’s fintech expertise.
According to a report in opengovasia.com, a website covering governance and tech issues in the region: “This is in line with goals earlier set by President Rodrigo Duterte of attaining financial inclusivity for Filipinos. He explained that India can assist the Philippines in setting up and improving its national broadband network. India is also intent on providing tech assistance to the Philippines once the latter rolls out its national ID system” (something perhaps similar to India’s Aadhaar Unique Identity).
The website quoted Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez as saying that digital transformation “will help in fostering financial inclusion, in upgrading delivery of frontline delivery services and putting a stop to corruption” (echoes the Indian experience).
Jaishankar’s visit also touched on trade, with Manila deferring its decision to ratify its entry into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The Senate took the decision based on widespread protests from over 60 organisations representing farmers, fishermen, blue collar workers and others backed by 186 city mayors. Their major concern was China.
Describing RCEP as an “extreme form of trade liberalization”, the protesting groups warned that “our trade deficit with China is big already and it will become bigger. It will weaken our peso as the trade deficit grows. This shall increase the peso costs of debt servicing.”
The groups said there was no point in rushing into RCEP when the measures required to prepare local industry and business for entry into the WTO were never implemented. The matter remains stalled for now until the new government comes in. It remains to be seen whether the new government will go ahead with RCEP. In any case, India believes there’s scope for trade and investment ties with the Philippines.
Back to defence. The performance of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas at the Singapore Air Show has drawn considerable interest. There’s speculation that the Tejas could be the front runner for a Malaysian Air Force requirement of 36 light weight fighter jets. Media reports suggest the Turkish Hurjet is the only competitor but it is still under development, whereas two squadrons of the Tejas are already in service in India. The Indian Air Force is buying 83 more advanced variants of the fighter.
If the deal goes through, it could be a huge shot in the arm for India. It may spur other countries in the region with limited defence budgets to look at India’s range of weapons and platforms that are cost-effective and reliable. There are competitors in South Korea, Russia and China and it would be too early to rule them out. Typically, defence deals are major strategic decisions where considerations other than the weapon system to be acquired come into play.
For instance, it is known that China is offering jointly with Pakistan, the JF-17 Thunder jet. China is a key economic partner of ASEAN but it’s not clear if Kuala Lumpur would want to buy a Chinese aircraft at a time when Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea is intensifying. Comparable aircraft from Russia or South Korea may not be affordable or even suit Malaysia’s requirements.
A word about Vietnam. Some Indian diplomats argue that there is a tendency in Delhi to hype the relationship even though Hanoi has moved on, looking elsewhere to satisfy its commercial and strategic requirements. They showed interest in the surface to air Akash missile but wanted it for a song. Delhi refused and there the matter ended. Perhaps Vietnam sees more strategic value in buying arms from Russia given the difficulties in its relationship with China.
[/vc_column][/vc_row][/tdc_zone]
