Israeli Phalcon sale to India in trouble

By Kesava Menon

JERUSALEM, AUG. 20. The U.S. administration is reported to be opposed to the Israeli sale of an advanced Airborne Early Warning System (AEWS) to India. Concerns that the Phalcon airborne system could undermine stability in South Asia by altering the balance of power between India and Pakistan was said to be the basis for the U.S. opposition.

The report which appeared in today's edition of the respected Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz was sourced to an unnamed US official. A report in Ha'aretz several weeks ago had noted that the U.S. administration was trying to set up a special system to monitor weapons sales from Israel to India and 26 other countries. Today's report that the U.S. administration was considering active opposition to the deal suggested that the matter was being taken a step forward.

The daily report also stated that the proposed sale of the Phalcon system was the main stumbling block to the signing of a new U.S.-Israel agreement for the supervision of Israeli arms exports. Israeli officials were said to be concerned that a new arms exports supervision agreement would enable the U.S. to veto the India deal.

Under the circumstances it was not clear whether the report about U.S. opposition to the Phalcon sale was an inspired leak - to inform Israel that whether or not the export supervision deal was in place, opposition to the India deal would remain.

The supervision agreement is germane to U.S. strategic concerns. Originally the U.S. had wanted Israel's exports to twenty-seven countries be subjected to the terms of this agreement. Now the U.S. reportedly wanted weapons exports to only four countries - India, Pakistan, Russia and China - to be brought within the ambit of the agreement.

Pakistan, of course, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and the question of arms deals between them should not normally arise unless the U.S. was privy to some special information.

Israel's weapons deals with Russia and China, as also with India, are extremely lucrative. While the U.S. does not consider weapons sales to India as a potential threat to their own forces, they feel that advanced technology in the hands of China, could pose such a threat. It is possible that the U.S. is threatening to jeopardise the India deal, so that Israel softens its objections to the export-supervision agreement.

U.S. officials were said to have promised their Israeli counterparts, in the course of talks held in Washington, that they did not plan to cast an automatic veto on arms deals, even in respect to deals pertaining to the four countries. However, the U.S. wishes that Israel give prior notice of transactions with the four countries.

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Section  : International
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