India could be emerging as an alternative to the US or China, for Southeast Asian countries looking to purchase weapons, as New Delhi’s export ambitions continue to grow.
India has successfully exported the BrahMos cruise missile to the Philippines and is set to strike a major deal with Indonesia for the same, marking a significant shift in regional arms markets.
According to analysts, India's pitch to sell the missiles to friendly foreign nations and attempts to project itself as a major arms exporter offer Southeast Asian countries a more collaborative and neutral option compared to China's transactional model, and the US model, which comes with sanctions galore.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently said his visiting Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin broadly agreed to set up a joint defence industry cooperation committee to ensure bilateral collaboration in areas of transfer of military technologies and for supply-chain linkages. According to defence ministry, India's experience in submarine development and supply-chain management, including the Scorpene class submarine programme, was acknowledged as highly valuable for Indonesia's future plans.
Analysts observed in the South China Morning Post that the missile deal between India and Indonesia is not merely another arms contract, but a declaration of "India’s strategic arrival in a region (Southeast Asia) where hard power has long been defined by the United States and constrained by China’s coercive posturing.”
ALSO READ: Beyond Brahmos: India to equip Indonesia's 500 new infantry battalions
Gaurav Kumar, researcher at a think-tank, United Service Institution of India, observed that the sale of Brahmos to the Philippines, the upcoming export of the missile to Indonesia and the possible sale of the missile to Vietnam indicate that India is turning out to be an alternative defence player in Southeast Asia.
He pointed out that many Southeast Asian nations are tired of being forced into a binary choice between the US and China.
“India offers a third pathway: one that comes without sanctions risks, without hegemonic baggage and without intrusive conditions,” he was quoted as saying.
South China Morning Post quoted another expert as saying that such export deals help India to boost its security role in the region and project itself as an international arms exporter, apart from the obvious economical gains.
Buying from India, which is seeking to build strategic ties with major nations in Southeast Asia, also helps the countries avoid the threat of antagonising the US and China as New Delhi is "neither a treaty ally of the United States nor a claimant in the South China Sea disputes."