INDO-ISRAEL DEFENCE RELATIONSHIP: IMPLICATIONS ON PAKISTAN’S SECURITY POLICIES

The strategic partnership between India and Israel is well established and improving over time. This defence-based cooperation is escalating the already existing arms competition in the South Asian region resulting in action-reaction dynamics owing to the security competition between India and Pakistan. India-Israel increasing defence collaboration in hi-tech weapon systems including the Air and Ballistic Missile Defence system and serious facelift of the Indian military courtesy of Israeli defence firms is creating a security dilemma leading to greater security concerns for Pakistan in particular and other neighbouring nations in general. The deep-rooted mode of cooperation between India and Israel in the space programme would give the Indian military dominance in information warfare. The counterterrorism and intelligence sharing between the two would help India add network-centric and electronic warfare capabilities and learn modern techniques for the contemporary combat environment. This defence partnership is likely to create a strategic imbalance in the region, compelling neighbouring Pakistan (and others) to look for countermeasures. Resultantly, Pakistan‟s counter-effort to secure itself is enhancing arms competition. This paper will highlight the areas of defence cooperation between India and Israel and will signify it‟s implication over Pakistan and counter measures required.


Introduction:
The Indo-Israel strategic partnership is more than twenty years old. 2 In the past two decades, India-Israel defence cooperation has expanded exponentially.Both countries during this period achieved a lot of success and strengthened their economic, diplomatic and strategic ties with collaboration in many areas.
Many agreements have been signed for buying or jointly developing military systems as the two countries have shown mutual interest to widen their influence in South Asia and the Middle Eastern region, thereby enhancing their strategic and defence cooperation.The most obvious example is in the field of Air and Ballistic Missile Defence cooperation, in addition to a wide range of other military 1 Practicing Advocate at Jammu & Kashmir High Court Srinagar, National campaigner of Socio-Political Rights (All Indian Student Federation), BALLB, School of Law University of Kashmir, and Prospective LLM Scholar 2 Satish Kumar, India's National Security: Annual Review 2013 (New Delhi: Routledge, August 12, 2015), 162.systems too, leading the well-established and modernized Israeli technical expertise to fill critical gaps in the Indian defence industry. 3The defence ties between both are of special significance since they would revamp the Indian military"s overall operational capabilities; fill the gaps in its air defence systems, night vision and surveillance capabilities, develop its indigenous defence industry and bring it to par with the modern well-equipped forces in the world.The defence trade between India and Israel has crossed the $9 billion mark. 4e increasing India-Israel defence cooperation and rapid development of conventional and nonconventional military weapons are triggering the existing arms race in the region between the two nuclear weapon adversaries, i.e., India and Pakistan.This development is resulting in an action-reaction spiral5 as it constrains Pakistan from effectively deterring the emerging threat from the India-Israel defence partnership and maintaining the strategic and conventional balance vis-à-vis India.

1.
Overview and Background of the defence Collaboration: The state of Israel was established in 1948 with the auspices of Britain and other European countries. 6kistan, from day one, has supported the cause of the Palestinians and refused to recognize the state of Israel, and played a significant role to support the Palestinian cause diplomatically at the United Nations.Even today, the Pakistani passport is valid for other countries in the world except for Israel.
This shows Pakistan"s continued support of Palestinians and their cause.India in the early years of its independence did not show any great desire to improve its political or strategic ties with Israel.India chose not to initiate formal ties with Israel, keeping its dealings on the low ebb because of its traditional policy preferences towards the Arab states.However, during this time, both states were discreetly cooperating in multiple areas, such as security, intelligence sharing and the transfer of military equipment.Israel never wavered from supporting India militarily in most of its major conflicts, be it the border conflict with China or the war with Pakistan. 7e linkages between both states remained cold until 1992. 8Throughout the Cold-War era, the Soviet Union was India"s major defence partner and "emerged as India"s primary supplier of defence equipment." 9But after the collapse of the USSR, India had to look for alternative alliances and military competencies; therefore, the sophisticated weapons of Israel were the obvious choice.Israel soon became a reliable defence partner of India and the "second-largest source of armaments." 10After the Cold-War period and subsequent changes in the international geostrategic environment, including the increasing violence in Kashmir, and the change in the global world order, the United States (U.S.) became the sole superpower.
This became a prime opportunity for India to improve its strategic ties with Israel since the latter received immense political, economic and strategic support from the U.S. and its allies.The state of Israel learnt from its wars with the Arabs and improved its defence industry accordingly to mitigate threats from its hostile neighbours.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 1992 11 realized this opportunity and moved towards Israel to overcome technological gaps in its ageing military systems.Another important factor was in Kashmir.India sought Israel"s help in counterinsurgency tactics in occupied Kashmir 12 .Both India and Israel not only formalized their diplomatic relations in 1992 but also established formal defence cooperation in 1997. 13Since then, several military visits, exchanges and meetings held between New Delhi and Jerusalem have reached new heights with the passing years.
Besides various compelling and conclusive reasons "The Kargil conflict" between India and Pakistan also played a vital role in the revitalization of Indian defence cooperation with Israel.During the war, Israel proved to be a reliable partner by providing India with various hi-tech weaponry that is required.
This included: laser-guided missiles for fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, surface-to-surface missiles, avionics and artillery, 14 all of which helped India to recapture "Tiger Hill" 15 and demonstrated an operational edge against Pakistan.Similarly, in 2002 Israel delivered military support to India against Pakistan, when India decided to commence a limited military attack "Operation Parakram," 16 although the operation ended without turning into an armed conflict.The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Indian parliament attack in 2001, the Mumbai attack in 2008, and the Balakot strike in 2019, all pushed India to procure advanced and modernized military technology and missile systems from its defence partners especially Israel to enhance its regional power projection.
The other areas of defence collaboration have primarily focused on network-centric and electronic warfare capabilities, spy satellites, modern radars, anti-ballistic missile technology, and reformation of main battle tanks, aircraft, intelligence and counterterrorism techniques which Israel has mastered since its establishment. 17Both countries have signed many pacts for defence procurement, avionics for the ageing Russian aircraft and other military equipment.This is transforming the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.However, the most entrenched partnership between the two states is in intelligence,

Israel:
The military exchanges and official visits between India and Israel began to take place in the year of 1992 and both states signed several defence agreements.For India, Israel is a reliable and ideologically like-minded arms supplier.The "special friendship" between the premiers of both states made India Israel"s largest arms client in 2017. 18dia is aspiring for the status of global power.At the same, it wants to maintain a balance with its economically and militarily strong adversary China, and strategically compatible Pakistan.It is, therefore, working to overcome deficiencies in its overall military might.For said purpose, a massive modernization program in collaboration with Israel has been underway for many years now.According to a report, published by the "Stockholm International Peace Research Institute" (SIPRI) in March 2020, India is now the topmost buyer of Israeli arms, and purchases almost half of all the exports of Israeli defence equipment and technologies.In 2017, India overtook the United Kingdom as the fifth largest defence spender in the world 19 and with the increase in its defence budget from 2017 to 2019; it became the third military spender in the world after the US and China.The SIPRI report also reveals that India increased its military spending and arms export because of growing tension and rivalry with its regional neighbours. 20These developments show an alarming trend towards India"s militarization duly supported by Israel as a key player.
Following the route to get more modernized weaponry, Prime Minister of India Modi is determined to strengthen relations with Israel and therefore, took the next step under the "Make in India" initiative to diversify its military and defence ties for technology transfers.The initiative was launched in September 2014, to make India a global hub and to encourage national and multinational companies to manufacture their products within the country.Under this initiative, the Indian government signed several agreements to boost defence production and upgrade technology and defence export capability.
The Indo-Israel co-production and initiation of joint ventures to promote the culture of defence cooperation has resulted in various joint development initiatives between their defence companies in the past few years, especially to upgrade military technology and co-development and coproduction of the missile defence system.

Major Areas of India-Israel Defence Cooperation:
After establishing diplomatic relations, India has been pursuing a close partnership with the highly sophisticated Research and Development (R&D) industry of Israel and initiated joint R&D projects to boost its defence sector.The major step was the opening of the Defence Wing office in Israel in 1997. 21nce then India-Israeli defence collaboration has diversified into many areas, such as Phalcon AWACS, "submarine-launched cruise missiles, micro-satellite system for surveillance, laser-guided systems and precision-guided munitions, anti-ballistic missile systems, long-range and advanced medium-range surface-to-air missile systems," antiaircraft systems and missiles, combat drone technology and up-gradation of arms technology.Some of the major defence collaborations are chronologically furnished below: Surface to Air Missiles (LRSAM) or Barak-8 naval air defence system for four ships of the Indian Navy.It was "jointly developed by IAI and DRDO and handed over to the Indian Navy on August 2017. 30The major purpose of the Barak-8 missile is to protect the Exclusive Economic Zone" (EEZ) and "key strategic facilities of Israel that are seemingly exposed to "multiple" threats." 31 Justin Paul George writes in The Week Magazine that this missile "was developed to counter the threat of advanced subsonic and supersonic anti-ship missiles that the likes of Pakistan, China, and Syria (in the case of Israel) have been buying." 322017: India successfully tested the SPYDER missile system. 33According to India Today, the Indian Air Force will deploy the Israeli SPYDER missile system on its western border "to reinforce its vigilance to strike down any aerial threat from" Pakistan. 342017: The Indian Navy procured an "Integrated Under-Water Harbor Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS)" for security and protection.The system was launched in India with the collaboration of IAI and strategically installed around the Mumbai Port, not only providing comprehensive monitoring but also enhancing the security of valuable assets against asymmetric threats. 35 cruise missiles and drones and keep tabs on enemy troop build-ups and movement of" warships. 41ese significant developments and the rapid proliferating strategic and military "cooperation between India and Israel indicate that it is not a one-sided relationship where India gained by procuring advanced military technology from Israel, but "Israel also needed India as a market for selling its weapons and technology.Initially, India"s nuclear deal with the United States helped it to pursue its missile program but in the past few years, India is more interested in widening the missile defence cooperation with Israel to facelift its defence industry.

India-Israel Partnership for advancement in Missile Defence System:
The significant changes and transformation in global security architecture "after the end of the Cold-War compelled many states to acquire a strong anti-ballistic missile defence system to guard them against any nuclear weapon attack.Ever since the introduction of the missile defence system in South Asia," there is an ever-rising competition between India and Pakistan threatening the delicate regional strategic balance.The military and political reasoning of India to develop a missile defence system is to "survive a nuclear attack and create the potential for retaliation.Moreover, India wanted to possess BMD technology along with nuclear missile technology to enhance its status among the world"s leading countries. 42In addition, India argued and alleged its principal adversaries, "Pakistan and China, to be the key sources of missile and nuclear threats and used this reasoning to initiate its missile defence programme in the late 1990s, especially after the reports that Pakistan is deploying Chinese missiles. 43ahma Chellaney, 44 an Indian analyst, stated that India was affected not only by the new arms race in Asia, prompted by the United States missile defence system but also "by the increased threat from China"s built-up of nuclear and missile technology and the sales of its missile systems to" Pakistan. 45nce then, India has been looking for alternatives and decided to collaborate internationally with states like Israel and the United States, so that it could procure the best technology to build a strong Air and Ballistic Missile Defence system. 46dia views Israel as a major player in providing its advanced military technology.Israel has made extensive developments in the missile defence system.India admires and wants to benefit from its expertise in the areas of" unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare equipment.Therefore, India"s DRDO has been collaborating on various defence projects and co-developing defence equipment with major Israeli defence companies such as Elbit, IAI, Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Rafael.India also "showed particular interest in Israeli made state of the art anti-missile defence systems, namely David"s Sling and Iron Dome, as it may give India a significant edge if there is a missile attack from Pakistan or China. 47All these developments are testimony to the fact that India-Israel strategic partnership has been contributing constructively to the Indian" missile defence system, raising genuine to get an upgraded version of Barak-8 air defence missile" system. 48Following this, both states again "signed a US $1.4 billion contract for the development and procurement of Barak-8 Medium-Range Surface-toAir Missiles. 49dia and Israel are also quite keen on strengthening their naval cooperation and announced a deal of US $630 million in 2017 for the installation of Barak-8 air defence systems aboard four Indian Navy ships: INS Vikrant, Visakhapatnam class guide-missile Kolkata class destroyers, and Kamorta class anti-submarine warfare corvettes. 50To further enhance maritime cooperation, India signed a US $777 million deal in October 2018 with Israel for the procurement of the "Barak-8 LR-SAM Air and Missile Defence System for seven ships of the Indian Navy."This system is an Air and Missile Defence system which is used by the Indian and Israeli navies, and air and land forces. 51This continuous missile development by India with the help of Israel is quite alarming as it directly triggers a nuclear arms race in South Asia which seriously affects the deterrence stability in the region.

India-Israel Defence Ties: Security Implications for Pakistan:
The Indo-Israel strategic collaboration would have far-reaching implications for Pakistan"s security.The Indian military is already in the process of revamping its network-centric and electronic warfare capabilities with the help of Israel.Sucha transformation may expose the Pakistan military"s vulnerabilities in modern war-fighting techniques.The edge in information warfare will be dangerous for Pakistan because contemporary warfare heavily depends on it.A country with superior assets in space will also have an advantage over its enemies.In the South Asian context, the Indian military"s defence superiority will seriously hamper the balance of power and put Pakistan in a precarious situation to allocate more resources to defence instead of education, healthcare and human resource development concept of modern warfare is based on the pace and the ability of a military force to operate without any time barrier.India, with Israel"s help, has equipped its space assets, air force and main battle tanks with night vision capabilities to carry out quick and swift operations and achieve an element of surprise against Pakistan.Moreover, surveillance equipment and long-range radars would increase the outreach of Indian forces even beyond its borders to infiltrate Pakistani territory.Under such circumstances, the chances of a limited war may increase, which would be dangerous for peace and stability in the region.In addition, Pakistan"s intelligence agencies must adopt sophisticated skills according to the changing environment in the field of intelligence and covert warfare

Conclusion:
The Indo-Israel strategic partnership is well-established and based on mutual benefit and threat perception.Both countries share common interests which encompass internal security, counterterrorism, defence trade and intelligence sharing.Their bilateral defence ties would see further growth because India considers Israel a reliable and trustworthy supplier of crucial defence technologies.Israel is also expanding its defence industry and expanding its outreach in global defence trade.An expansion of defence cooperation between India and Israel along with the acquisition of military and nuclear capabilities by India through its strategic partnership with Israel would not only undermine the regional balance but will also have severe consequences "for the stability of South Asia in future.This cooperation reveals India"s strong commitment to dominance and "power projection in the broader Southern Asian region that includes the Indian Ocean and Malacca Straits.Moreover, India considers Pakistan and China a major irritants in its quest for hegemony.Therefore, the defence partnership with Israel is seen as a guarantee to ensure its ambitions.Development and" acquisition of defence system, as well as missile proliferation, is rigorously undermining the strategic stability and has the potential to accelerate arms race in the region.In this process, India seems to have ignored that its actions are worsening the security dilemma, increasing insecurity, intensifying the arms race and provoking Pakistan to take countermeasures, which in turn will further deteriorate the security environment of the South Asian region.
counterterrorism and counterinsurgency skills.Strategic defence ties between both states are picking up pace and are likely to create serious security challenges for South Asia, especially Pakistan.The defence industry of Israel is well-established and specializes in modern warfare capabilities.The association between India and Israel could undermine the conventional balance vis-à-vis Pakistan which may have to rely on strategic weapons to counter a conventionally and technologically superior adversary at the border.

 2004 : 2009 : 2009 : 28  2017 : 29  2017 :
India and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed an agreement for the US $1 billion, under which India ordered three strategic airborne radar systems that would be fixed on Russian (IL-76) transport aircraft.The delivery of these Phalcon AWACS helped India to monitor and survey deeply, intercept communications and radar frequencies and help command IAF responses in case of missile and aircraft attacks.22An Israeli Phalcon arrived in India and was inducted into the Indian Air Force Phalcon on 28 May,23  which helped India to join the global ranks of AWACS operators.Israel finalized a US $1 billion deal with India for 18 mobile "Surface to Air Python and Derby Missile System (SPYDER)."24Indian forces used Israeli Derby missile technology to shoot down a Pakistani spying drone after the Balakot air-strikes in" 201925  and decided to re-arm its Sukhoi-30 fighter jets with Israeli Derby air-to-air missiles as they were unable to retaliate against F16s. 26 2016: The Indian government approved the purchase of two more AWACS" for approximately US $3 billion in defence sales from Israel to acquire broader aircraft coverage of the territory. 27These aircraft help IAF in tracking the aerial threat and also guide the counter-response.Therefore, during the February 2019 military stand-off between Pakistan and India, Israeli-made AWACS and AEW&C aircraft were deployed to monitor the IAF operation and aerial engagement.India and Israel signed a US $2 billion missile defence deal for advanced "Medium Range Surface Air Missiles (MRSAM), which includes advanced phased-array radar, command and control, mobile launchers and missiles.IAI finalized a US $630 million deal with India to supply advanced 70 km Low Range

(accessed on 19 March 2020)  2018 : 36  2018 : 37  2018 :
The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security gave the final affirmation to acquire AWACS from Israel.The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), used by the Indian Air Force, was equipped with Israeli super radar in 2018 that gave it the combat edge to engage multiple air and ground targets at the same time."IAI also finalized the delivery of "AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radars to the Indian Air Force to increase the capability of the Indian Air Force in cross-border strikes.The Indian Army signed an agreement with DRDO to raise one regiment of MRSAM and planned to have five regiments of air defence systems deployed, to combat both China and Pakistan.38"The system is jointly developed by IAI and DRDO to boost the Make-in-India initiative.2018: India acquired missile-armed drones or Heron TP-armed drones for US $400 million from Israel capable of detecting, tracking and taking down targets with air-to-ground missiles.39These drones helped India upgrade its Harpy UAV fleet.Because of increasing tension with Pakistan and China, India approved the deal to purchase 10 drones in 2013 from Israel.In the past, India also procured these UAVs from Israel to boost its surveillance capabilities at the borders with China and Pakistan.40

 2020 :
India finalized the US $1 billion deal with Israel to purchase two AWACS because of an ongoing military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh.According to the Times of India, India planned to acquire additional AWACS during the pre-dawn strikes at Balakot and the subsequent aerial combat with Pakistan Air Force in February 2019.The AWACS detect and track incoming fighters, concerns or Pakistan.Due to the on-going military modernization, India and Israel enhanced their defence collaborations and India has been able to acquire several sophisticated weapon systems from Israel to gain a significant advantage over its adversaries.Driven by the desire to integrate missile defence into its nuclear posture in 2003,54 India signed a US $1.1 billion deal with Israel in April 2009, Advancement in the field of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has changed the concept of modern warfare.Now, drones are used not only for surveillance or reconnaissance purposes but also used to achieve military targets.The Israel defence industry has achieved huge milestones in the field of UAVs.It is considered to be the leading supplier of long-range armed UAVs in the world.India has added longrange armed UAVs keep a close eye on Pakistan and other neighbours in the region.Other than UAVs for surveillance purposes, Israel has developed suicidal drones.The Harpy and Harop come in the category of such UAVs which would pose serious a threat to the Pakistan military"s command, control and communication centres during the conflict.In addition, key defence installations, radars, missile launch sites, mobile launchers, and other sensitive assets would be in grave danger.India would have the ability to take them down without any hitch, putting Pakistan"s security at risk.These drones are highly accurate and possess deadly explosive material to destroy important military targets on the battlefield.The strategic significance of spy satellites can also not be ignored in contemporary warfare.In our context, the space assets of the Indian military, especially the Risaat-II satellite could expose troop movement and deployment patterns along the international border and Line of Control.The Indian military can keep round the clock watch over Pakistani territory in all weather conditions; monitor Pakistan military"s activities; and have sufficient time for countermeasures.India"s intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, has been active against Pakistan since its inception.To revamp this intelligence institution, India has sought the help of Israel.The most important aspect of the Indo-Israel strategic partnership is this cooperation in counterinsurgency, terrorism and intelligence sharing.RAW is getting transformed with modern intelligence-gathering techniques, gadgets, equipment and forensic expertise by the Israeli intelligence agency MOSSAD.It may apply these advance and sophisticated skills against Pakistan.Indian and Israeli intelligence agencies may ignite sectarian strife in Pakistan, and train and fund anti-Pakistan elements in Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and Balochistan-based rebel groups.All these scenarios are worrisome for Pakistan and need to be tackled with an effective counterintelligence operation.This requires the intelligence agencies of Pakistan to overhaul their spying methods, training and techniques.