The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 13th September, 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Three to Tangle 

Why in the news?

• India has lodged a strong complaint with the US over its authorization of the sale of equipment and other items to Pakistan for the maintenance of its fleet of F-16 fighter jets, valued at $450 million.
• F-16 fighter jets are now in use by the Pakistan Air Force, which started acquiring them from the US in the 1980s.
• The present package includes, elements for fleet maintenance such as repairs, replacement parts, software, and software support.
• India submitted the objection with the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu.
• Lu visited India for high-level negotiations arranged through the India-US 2+2 process.

Reasons behind India’s Concerns

• Pakistan has a poor counter-terrorism record.
• Numerous jihadist organizations continue to operate out of Pakistan.
• Some of the most well-known jihadist figures, including Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11 attacks, were apprehended there.
• Notably, over time, a tight alliance between the Pakistani military and terrorists has developed.
• Sheikh Mohammed was apprehended in a military officer's residence just five minutes from from the Pakistan Army headquarters, and Bin Laden lived near to the country's military college. However, the US still engages Pakistan militarily.

US Arguments on the Package

• In accordance with the U.S.'s global policy of sustaining its defence sales for the duration of their life cycles, Mr. Lu explained to officials that the Foreign Military Sales package included a maintenance agreement for F-16s, some of which are 40 years old.
• This programme focuses on maintenance and safety. No new capabilities, weapons systems or new air craft is being considered.
• It will sustain Islamabad's capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet.

On china

• The most recent India-China disengagement agreement at Patrolling Point-15 along the Line of Actual Control, which was announced this week, was likewise met with considerable scepticism by Mr. Lu
• He proclaimed that as India faces what he described as the "grave challenge" from China, the United States would "resolutely" defend it.

What are India-USA's points of divergence?

• The Indian side specifically raised concerns regarding the technology and support provided for the F-16s.
• India conveyed that it would be employed against India.
• The government also had concerns about the Biden administration's rekindling of relations with Pakistan and the Shehbaz Sharif administration.

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

The IPEF is regarded as a tool to combat China's aggressive and opaque trade and economic policies. The IPEF is a grouping of 14 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, which make up over 40% of the global GDP. It’s a US-led grouping.

• Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States are among the group's 14 members.
• The economic framework broadly rests on four pillars: trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy and decarbonisation, and taxes and anti-corruption measures.
• India will be a part of three of the four IPEF pillars, such as the clean economy (clean energy, decarbonisation, and infrastructure) resilient economy (supply chain), and fair economy (anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and tax).
• But it has refrained from joining the connected economy (trade) pillar.

Other issues

• Indo-Pacific Economic Framework:India decided to withdraw from the trade pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, citing fears that any trade agreement might "discriminate" against developing nations over things like labour laws, environmental commitments, and digital laws.
• Russian oil: India has not endorsed the American initiative to form a G-7-led coalition to impose price controls on Russian oil. At the Eastern Economic Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed Mr. Putin that India wants to strengthen its energy relations with Russia.
• India has recently rebuffed American requests to amend its UN vote on Russia and refused to reduce its energy purchases from Russia.