Military Diplomacy

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Context:

India’s Military diplomacy is in top gear with back-to-back exercises for three Services.

Details

What is Defence diplomacy?

Defence diplomacy is an instrument for forging defence cooperation. It is an integral part of the country’s overall diplomatic effort to secure its national interests, and contribute to peace and stability in the neighbourhood and various regions of the world.

Historical Background

• India had strong defence cooperation with Russia during the Cold War.
• Limited cooperation with other countries during non-alignment years.
• Faced wars with Pakistan and China with limited resources.
• Post-1962 India-China war, India began rebuilding its armed forces with limited external help.
• Instability in neighboring countries directly impacted India’s security.
• India intervened briefly in Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the 1980s upon invitation.
• India established defence cooperation with neighbors like Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Maldives.
• Post-Cold War, the dissolution of the USSR and the Indo-Soviet Treaty affected India's defence relations.
• India conducted nuclear tests in 1998, which led to Western sanctions and isolation.

Engagement with the U.S.

• The U.S. changed its approach post-1998, recognizing India as a strategic partner.
• Clinton’s 2000 visit set the foundation for the India-U.S. strategic relationship.
• India-U.S. comprehensive institutional dialogues began on security and non-proliferation.

 Key India-U.S. Defence Milestones

• 2008: Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement signed.
• 2012: Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) launched.
• 2014: Endorsement of the India-U.S. Defense Cooperation Declaration.
• 2015: 10-year Defense Framework agreement signed.
• 2016: India became a ‘major defence partner,’ LEMOA signed.
• 2018: First 2+2 dialogue at ministerial level, COMCASA signed.
• 2020: BECA signed on geospatial information sharing.
• 2023: iCET signed for cooperation in high technology areas.

Strategic Partnerships Beyond the U.S.

• Over 60 defence cooperation agreements were signed.
• Defence ties with France, Israel, UK, Japan, and others strengthened.

Emerging Partnerships

• China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific spurred deeper cooperation with Japan, Australia, and other nations.
• Quad, AUKUS, and trilateral arrangements (e.g., US-Japan-South Korea) became strategic partnerships.
• European countries, like France, engaged with India on maritime issues.

Multilateral Defence Engagement

• India participates in multiple bilateral and multilateral military exercises.
• Indigenous defence manufacturing under “Make in India” has expanded.
• Defence industrial cooperation with global powers helped India diversify its procurement sources.

India as a Defence Provider

• India provides defence training and capacity-building to countries in Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia.
• Defence academies established in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and others.

Key Features of India’s Defence Diplomacy

• India’s defence diplomacy covers a wide range of activities including defence dialogues, military exchanges, training, capacity building, information sharing, HADR, staff level talks, defence industrial co-operation, arms trade, peacekeeping, trade fairs, skill development, etc. The activities are carried out round the year.
• India holds signature exercises like MILAN regularly.
• India’s defence diplomacy includes

Joint military exercises

• India’s military diplomacy is at a hectic pace with back-to-back military exercises from countries far and wide for all three Services.
• India-U.S. bilateral Army exercise Yudh Abhyas is set to commence at the Mahajan field firing ranges in Rajasthan.
• Phase-II of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) largest multilateral exercise Tarang Shakti is underway at Jodhpur with eight countries, including India participating with aircraft and 17 countries as observers.
• The iconic A-10 Thunderbird close air support aircraft are flying over Indian air space for the first time as the U.S. has deployed them for the exercise along with F-16 jets.
• The countries deploying aircraft include Australia, Greece, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, UAE and the U.S., Bangladesh, which was scheduled to deploy a C-130 transport aircraft, has dropped out in the backdrop of recent domestic developments.

UN Peacekeeping Missions

India is the second-largest contributor to UN peacekeeping forces. India has contributed significantly to peacekeeping in Africa with 4,400 Indian peacekeepers.

Emerging Technologies

iCET with the U.S. and Quad initiatives highlight emerging technological cooperation.

Defence Exhibitions

India hosts biennial Defence Expo and Aero India, showcasing indigenous defence capabilities. The 2022 Defence Expo was India’s largest, attracting global defence companies.

Humanitarian Assistance

• A key element of being a ‘net security provider’ is the ability to launch Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in the region
• The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2015 Nepal earthquake
• 2020 floods in
• India helped Turkey and Syria after the 2023 earthquake through Operation Dost, a search and rescue operation, and by sending relief materials .
• HADR remains an important focus area within the Quad, but India has also undertaken initiatives like the PANEX-21 exercise with the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries to envisage contingencies for such operations in the backdrop of the pandemic.

Conclusion

India has emerged as a regional security provider, leveraging defence diplomacy to strengthen its own capabilities and contribute to global security.

Source:

https://www.vifindia.org/article/2023/september/06/Role-of-Defence-Diplomacy-in-Shaping-Favourable-Strategic-Neighbourhood

https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indias-growing-defence-diplomacy-footprint

https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indias-growing-defence-diplomacy-footprint