US Weighing Sanctions Against India
The United States is continuing to talk to India about the risks of sanctions for its acquisition of the S-400 missile system from Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), but has not made a determination “with regard to this transaction”, the State department said on 27 January 2022.
Speaking at a regular press briefing, the State department spokesperson Ned Price said, “I think it shines a spotlight on the destabilising role that Russia is playing not only in the region, but potentially beyond as well. When it comes to CAATSA sanctions, you’ve heard me say before we haven’t made a determination with regard to this transaction, but it’s something we continue to discuss with the Government of India, given the risk of sanctions for this particular transaction under CAATSA.”
Price added that whether it was India or any other country, the US continued to “urge all countries to avoid major new transactions for Russian weapon systems”. When asked if the US had a timeline on the decision on CAATSA, Price said, “I don’t have a timeline to offer, but these are issues that we continue to discuss with our partners in India.”
S-400 Deal and Sanctions Act
CAATSA came into force in 2017, at a time when the political mood in Washington DC was hostile to Russia for its actions in Ukraine, Syria and alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential elections. The Act seeks to deter countries which engage with Russia, especially in the realm of defence purchases, through punitive measures. Under the Act, sanctions were imposed on Turkey — a NATO ally — for its acquisition of the S-400 system from Russia.
India has a long-standing defence relationship with Russia — and has pursued its acquisition of the S-400 missile system.
Turkey, India and China have purchased the S-400 systems but only companies from Turkey and China have been sanctioned under CAATSA, a US domestic law introduced during the Trump era, India has so far not been acted against.
India’s Position
India had signed a $ 5 billion deal in October 2018 with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems though the US administration had warned that such a move may attract sanctions. But in recent times, US Senators have also started flagging India’s purchase of naval warships from Russia.
Despite strong objections from the US and threat of sanctions from the Biden Administration, India has refused to make any changes in its decision and is going ahead with the purchase of the missile defence system.
Interestingly, S-400 is already being deployed in India and the second one is likely to be deployed by March, with the remaining three likely to arrive by September.
Asked about the possibility of US sanctions for buying the S-400 missile systems, in November 2021, MEA spokesperson Arindam Baghci said, “India and the US have a comprehensive global strategic partnership and India has a special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia. We also pursue an independent foreign policy. This applies to our defence acquisition and supplies which are guided by our national security interests.”
Balanced Approach
US President Joe Biden’s nominee for coordinator for sanctions policy James O’Brien has hinted at balance in US approach on India’s requirements for Russian S-400 missile defence systems, which are being deployed here, vis-a-vis Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Caatsa).
O’Brien was asked at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday if the US experience with Turkey provided any warning or lessons on how to proceed with India. The US had imposed sanctions on Turkey over the procurement of S-400 missile systems.
O’Brien said it was difficult to compare the two situations, with a NATO ally that is breaking with legacy defence procurement systems, and then with India, a partner of growing importance, but that has legacy ties with Russia.
At the hearing US Republican senator Todd Young batted for granting Caatsa waiver to India. “I believe they are very different circumstances, and, of course, different security partnerships – but how do you believe we should think about the possibility of sanctioning our friends and not just threats?” Young asked O’Brien.
On his part Young said India was currently taking delivery of the Russian S-400 system and was also in the process of acquiring new frigate ships from Russia. “Both are important systems for the Indians,” he said, adding, “India is a vital ally in our competition against China, and thus, I believe we should resist taking any actions that might drive them away from us and the Quad. I am therefore strongly supportive of waiving CAATSA sanctions against India, given our shared foreign policy interests.”
“As most here know, the Indians have a lot of legacy systems from previous decades, and they are interoperable with the Russians’ systems. And the Indians seek to defend their land border from Chinese incursions and defend the Indian Ocean from an increasingly adventurous and lawless blue ocean navy in the People’s Liberation Army,” he said.
In October last year, two powerful US Senators – Mark Warner of the Democratic Party and John Cornyn of the Republican Party – had urged Biden not to impose provisions of CAATSA against India for buying the S-400 missile system, arguing that it was in America’s national security interest.
“We strongly encourage you to grant a CAATSA waiver to India for its planned purchase of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system. In cases where granting a waiver would advance the national security interests of the US, this waiver authority, as written into the law by Congress, allows the President additional discretion in applying sanctions,” they wrote in a letter to Biden.
Both Warner, Chairman of the Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Cornyn, Senate Minority Whip for the Grand Old Party (GOP), are co-chairs of the Senate India caucus.
When it comes to the crunch, New Delhi may not need the helping hand of the two co-chairs of the India Caucus in the US Senate as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in 2019, “I am reasonably convinced of the powers of my persuasion. It would be my hope that people understand why this transaction is important for us.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, in December 2021, that the S-400 missile defence deal between India and Russia has a very important meaning for India’s defence capability and it is being implemented despite the US attempting to “undermine” the cooperation.
Comments
Most observers of the India-US relationship in Washington believe the US is likely to recognise India’s defence imperatives with regard to China, and waive off sanctions. But the renewed tensions over Ukraine have created a strong bipartisan mood in Washington against Russian actions, and added to India’s challenge in balancing ties. New Delhi issued a statement on 28 January hoping for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine.
Commenting on the broader challenge for India as US-Russia tensions deepen, Ashley J Tellis, the Tata chair for strategic studies at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and among the foremost experts on Asian geopolitics in the US, said, “There are already anxieties in the Congress about India, including vis a vis its relationship with Russia. If Delhi feels compelled to be mildly sympathetic to Russia, or even excessively neutral, it will not find a receptive audience for its position in Washington DC. India is admittedly in a hard place.”
