| Everybody wins! |
"We wouldn't have any problem because we have no problem with India buying defense equipment worldwide. We are no longer in an arms race with them," he said of Pakistan's South Asian nuclear rival.
| "No, no! Certainly not!" |
But US officials said India's interest may not be serious and complicates Bush administration decision-making. "We don't want to create an arms race with our own sales in South Asia," one US official said, speaking anonymously.
| "They'd much rather fly MiGs for some reason." |
India, long dependent on Russian-made armaments, recently expressed interest in American-made military aircraft and top US defense firms are promoting their wares this week at Aero India, the industry air show in Bangalore. There, a senior executive with Lockheed Martin Corp. said his company is in talks to sell its C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and P-3C Orion naval spy planes to India. India also has sought preliminary information in efforts to buy Lockheed's F-16 fighter jets. Under US law, Congress must approve government to government arms sales.
Diplomatic sources said India's interest in US fighters makes sense because ties between the two countries improved dramatically in recent years and sophisticated arms sales would add "ballast" to burgeoning trade.
But some US officials doubt India is serious about buying American, especially when there are other producers like France and Sweden, and when New Delhi remains concerned that American supplies could be interrupted by possible sanctions. They suspect India's interest is aimed at preventing Washington from selling to Islamabad.
India "has put the administration in a tough place. Does it sell to Pakistan and forgo a potentially lucrative deal with India, or is that Indian deal just a ploy to prevent arch nemesis Pakistan from getting them," one US official said, noting an Indian deal would be larger than an Pakistani deal. If Washington sold F-16s to both countries "that means we would be fueling a rivalry. It's very complicated," he added.
| "Not as complicated as Balochistan, but complicted enough," he noted. |
Some US lawmakers oppose F-16s to Pakistan because they feel the government is undemocratic and has not done enough to oppose Islamic militancy. But others say F-16s should be used to reward Islamabad for a major achievement, like peace with India in disputed Kashmir.