INDIA: India and Israel yesterday agreed jointly to fight terrorism during Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's New Delhi visit aimed at boosting military, political and intelligence ties.
Mr Sharon is the first Israeli prime minister to visit India after the two countries formally opened diplomatic relations in early 1992. Over the past five years, ever since Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist-led federal coalition came to power, Israel has become India's second-largest supplier of military hardware after traditional ally Russia.
Tel Aviv and Delhi have sought to minimise publicity about their military and intelligence co-operation for fear of stirring anti-Israel sentiments amongst the country's large Muslim community and of offending Arab states that supply more than 60 per cent of India's growing energy needs.
But with Mr Sharon's visit, the two sides appear to have emerged from the "closet".
Earlier this year, India's national security adviser, Mr Brajesh Misra, suggested in Washington that Delhi, Tel Aviv and Washington form a coalition to combat terror - a euphemism for forging a united front against Islam.
Hosting a banquet for Mr Sharon after one-on-one talks, Mr Vajpayee said defence co-operation between the two countries rested on a foundation of mutual understanding of security concerns.
"Bilaterally and on the international plane, we are contributing to the global fight against terrorism. It is a menace that particularly targets democratic societies, which have to fashion a global and comprehensive response to tackle," Mr Vajpayee declared.
Mr Sharon, whose arrival amid unprecedented security and countrywide sparked protests by Opposition and Muslim groups and anti-Israel activists, expressed hope that his visit would cement ties that have grown rapidly since 1998 after Mr Vajpayee's Hindu nationalists assumed power.
"We regard India to be one of the most important countries in the world; we share our belief in democracy and I hope that my visit here will contribute to strengthening our relations with India and developing them," said Mr Sharon, whose delegation includes at least 30 people connected to Israel's arms industry. The Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Yosef Lapid, said Israel could help India, since both countries were threatened by "fanatic" Muslims.
"We can train and teach and supply materials we have developed in fighting terrorism. We have developed a very advanced technology," Mr Lapid added.
India is fighting Muslims in the disputed northern Kashmir state for independence, while Palestinian militants are waging war against Israel for a homeland.
Meanwhile, Israel is on the verge of signing a $1 billion deal with India for three Phalcon early warning aircraft after the US recently cleared the sale of the so-called "eye in the sky" that can track 60 targets over a 800 km radius, giving New Delhi a significant strategic edge over Pakistan as well as China, with whom it fought a border war over a territorial dispute that remains unresolved. Analysts fear this could trigger an arms race in the region.
India has also opened negotiations to acquire the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system worth around $2.5 billion but the sale is predicated to clearance by the US, which funded the research of the world's only known operational anti-ballistic missile system.
Israel has also sold India naval anti-missile systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and $105 million worth of electronic warfare systems for battleships.
India has also acquired 3,400 Tavor assault rifles, 300 sniper rifles and night vision devices for $30 million to equip around 4,000 soldiers of the new Special Forces group, who will be trained by Israeli specialists to fight Muslim militants in Kashmir.