US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders slams Trump for selling weapons to India
SOURCE: THE WEEK
US presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders slammed US President Donald Trump for selling weapons to India, saying that the US should instead partner with New Delhi to fight climate change to save the planet. Sanders had emerged as the frontrunner for the Democratic Party after winning the Nevada and New Hampshire primaries and coming a close second in Iowa.
In an address at a massive ‘Namaste Trump’ rally at Motera stadium in Ahmedabad, the US president had announced deals to sell state-of-the-art military helicopters and other equipment worth over $3 billion. Talking about defence and strategic ties between the two countries, Trump said the US is looking forward to providing India with some of the best and most feared military equipment on the planet. The deals mentioned by Trump will include procurement of 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters by India from the US at a cost of $2.6 billion. Another contract to acquire six AH-64E Apache helicopters for $800 million from the US is also on the table.
“Instead of selling $3 billion in weapons to enrich Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed, the United States should be partnering with India to fight climate change,” Sanders said in a tweet, the first by a Democratic presidential candidate on Trump’s India visit. “We can work together to cut air pollution, create good renewable energy jobs, and save our planet,” he said.
In 2016, the US designated India as a Major Defence Partner. Commensurate with this designation, India in 2018 was granted Strategic Trade Authorisation tier 1 status, which allows New Delhi to receive license-free access to a wide range of military and dual-use technologies that are regulated by the Department of Commerce.
More recently, the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) was signed during the 2+2 Dialogue which facilitates close technology transfer with the Indian private industry. The ISA, along with other foundational agreements such Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), and joint exercises between the two militaries, furthers bilateral industrial and military cooperation and elevates India’s emergence as a stronger strategic partner with the United States.
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