New Delhi | Tuesday
SOUTH Africa, India’s youngest military partner, made a strong pitch on Tuesday to boost defence ties with a view to jointly producing arms for sale abroad as well as for domestic use.
Top defence officials from South Africa also called for deeper cooperation to turn the Indian Ocean region into a zone of peace.
India and South Africa restored diplomatic ties in 1993 following the collapse of apartheid and a year later the two began testing the ground for a military partnership which remained largely confined to joint naval exercises and military visits.
South African Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, who was leading a top-level delegation to an international military exhibition in New Delhi, said it was time for New Delhi and Pretoria to pursue joint ventures in the defence sector.
”In view of the transformation of the global security situation as well as the development of bilateral relations, the opportunity for cooperation between our defence forces has increased considerably,” Lekota told a news conference.
Lekota praised India’s decision in January to allow private sector partnership — both domestic and foreign — in the defence sector.
”The door is thus open for our industry to pursue business initiatives at this time of re-equipping of the Indian defence forces,” he said.
The defence minister ruled out any collaboration with Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India since the subcontinent’s independence in 1947.
”There is no sale to Pakistan as the country has no democratic government and we avoid selling weaponry where we are seen fuelling a conflict because it is not in our interest,” he said.
Jeff Radebe, South Africa’s public enterprise minister, called on the two nations to establish an ”artillery partnership” and jointly manufacture ammunition, propellant charges and gun systems.
South Africa’s state-owned Denel’s ordnance group is currently building a shell factory in eastern India and has offered to expand its presence here through joint production for sale in the international market.
”Denel is presently competing for contracts to satisfy India’s defence requirements in the fields of self-propelled and towed artillery systems,” Radebe said, adding the munitions firm had offered to set up a long-term artillery partnership here.
India, which bought up to 70% of its military hardware from the then Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, is currently scouring markets in Europe and the United States for a source of products and spare parts. – Sapa-AFP