NEW DELHI, 28 May 2004 — The United Progressive Alliance government vowed yesterday to give a new thrust to ties with Arab countries and renew support to the Palestinians, moving away from a strong pro-Israeli tilt of its predecessor.
While the new posture is seen as a setback to a nascent political axis between the United States, Israel and India, it is not expected to hurt a lucrative defense relationship between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, analysts said.
The Congress Party, which this month formed a coalition government supported by Communist parties, has for decades been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians and established diplomatic relations with Israel only in 1992.
“Traditional ties with West Asia will be given a fresh thrust,” the coalition said in a policy roadmap released on yesterday. “The government reiterates India’s commitment to the cause of the Palestinian people for a homeland of their own.”
The policy document, called the Common Minimum Program, also reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to talks with Pakistan to resolve a wide range of disputes, including Kashmir.
It said New Delhi would also pursue friendly ties with the United States but “oppose all attempts at unilateralism.”
The previous right-wing coalition, which suffered a shock defeat in elections, had developed a strong friendship with Israel. Both nations saw each other as natural allies in the fight against Muslim militancy.
Under the previous regime, Israel emerged as India’s second largest arms supplier after old ally Russia.
Last year, India and Israel signed a deal worth more than $1 billion under which New Delhi would buy Israeli-made Phalcon airborne radar systems.
Other arms deals between the two countries include unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-missile defense systems for warships, assault rifles and electronic fencing for military bases in strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir.
India also wants to buy the anti-ballistic Arrow missile system from Israel.
Analysts said India’s renewed support to the Palestinian cause would not be at the cost of the military relationship with Israel because New Delhi badly needs to modernize its defense forces, the world’s fourth-largest.
“The previous government had gone overboard in endorsing one side in such conflicts, leading to a neglect of the Palestinian cause,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director at the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management.
“What we are developing with Israel is completely independent of the position we take on the Palestine question,” he said.
Raja Menon, a retired navy admiral and strategic affairs analyst, said Israel was a great source of high-quality, inexpensive military equipment and India could not afford to burn its bridges with it.
“Unless India has got huge amounts of money to throw around, I don’t see any alternative to world-class equipment other than going to Israel,” Menon was quoted as saying to Reuters. “Military cooperation will run in parallel to greater vocal rhetoric for Palestine.”
— Additional input from agencies
