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From a correspondent comes this item from the Russian Reform Monitor
INDIA EYES RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT CARRIER. According to the Russian Ship Building Agency, India is interested in a major naval acquisition - the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Pravda reports that should the contract be finalized, the vessel, which has been docked for three years at Severodvinsk, will be repaired and modernized to accommodate MiG aircraft. However, the sale has long been delayed due to concerns that the carrier may house secret technology and equipment. This could be a purchase of prestige at a semi-ruinous price. On the other hand, India has genuine needs and ambitions. It would like be a Great Power on the order of the EU or China. A fair amount of Indian sea-borne trade passes through the Straits of Malacca and Suez. Finally, India has imperial ambitions in the backs of the minds of its ruling classes. It would like to re-unite the Raj (which the destruction of Pakistan, the domination of Burma, and the extension of its influence into the Gulf) and, if the Indonesian empire assembled by Javanese imperialists more than a half-century ago bgins to crumble, it would like to go fishing in those waters, both out sheer expansionism and to defend its trade. These ambitions would make India a more worthy ally and a more dangerous enemy. Perhaps we should commit to the former instead of trying to make show of even-handedness in South Asia. John "Akatsukami" Braue Thursday, June 13, 2002 |
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