The Pakistani Test Of the Israel-India Partnership
The recent controversy over potential Israeli arms sales to Pakistan is unlikely to undermine the Israel-India partnership.
On June 11, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz stirred a controversy in the defense community with the assertion that Israel sold military wares to Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. The Haaretz article was based on an export control report prepared by the British Foreign Office that listed the countries who received this equipment.
All countries named by Haaretz denied the allegations and challenged the reliability of the British report. In reality, the deals were nothing new, as Israel had developed discreet relations — including in the military realm — with these countries, and in particular with the Gulf states. But for the diplomats and the media, the most sensitive issue in the leaks was not that Israel sold military components to Arab countries that officially do not recognize its existence (except Egypt) but rather that Israel provided Pakistan with capabilities that could be used in a potential confrontation with India.
The first reaction of the Israeli Ministry of Defense was to issue a statement saying: "Israel has a strategic relationship with India, the strongest democracy in the world – which, like Israel, deals with terrorist threats and serves as a major anchor in global international relations. The State of Israel does nothing that could compromise its excellent relations with India.”
The timing of the allegations was unfortunate as India and Israel currently discuss a bilateral free trade agreement expected to be “a game changer,” according to Alon Ushpiz, the Israeli ambassador to New Delhi.
