India signs $3 bn submarine deal with Russia: reports

Published March 8, 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Indian PM Narendra Modi ahead of Indo-Russia Annual Summit in 2016. — AFP/File
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Indian PM Narendra Modi ahead of Indo-Russia Annual Summit in 2016. — AFP/File

India has signed a $3 billion deal to lease a third Russian nuclear-powered submarine for 10 years, giving Delhi a boost in the Indian Ocean against arch-rivals Pakistan and China, media reports said.

The deal — which according to the reports took months to negotiate — comes as tensions run high between India and Pakistan following their biggest standoff in years, and as Chinese influence grows in the region.

A defence ministry spokesman declined to confirm the agreement to AFP but the reports said that the submarine, the third India has leased from Russia, would be delivered by 2025.

Russia, India's Cold War ally, remains a major supplier of arms to India, irking the United States which has imposed sanctions on nations buying military hardware from Moscow.

Last October, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and inked a deal for Delhi to buy Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system for $5.2 billion.

But India also shares US fears about China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean, where New Delhi has traditionally held sway.

In 2017, India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India.

China has made inroads in Sri Lanka and Maldives, countries that India considers to be in its sphere of influence, through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has raised concerns about the initiative as a major section passes through Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

On Feb 26, India claimed its warplanes hit a militant training camp in Pakistan in response to a suicide bombing in Kashmir, which killed 40 paramilitary officers and was claimed by a militant group based in Pakistan.

Pakistan, a day later, carried out its own air raid, triggering a dogfight in which an Indian plane was shot down. India also said it shot down a Pakistan plane but Islamabad denied this.

Tensions cooled after Pakistan last Friday returned the Indian pilot of the downed aircraft, although both nations have continued to fire shells and mortars over the Line of Control.

Opinion

Editorial

Beyond the surplus
Updated 20 Jul, 2025

Beyond the surplus

Long-term solution to our recurring balance-of-payments crises lies in resolving the structural gaps.
Dire straits
20 Jul, 2025

Dire straits

THE state has a major problem on its hands. The people of KP are repeatedly making it clear that they have no ...
Attack mindset
20 Jul, 2025

Attack mindset

HAVING begun Mike Hesson’s era as head coach with a convincing home Twenty20 series victory against Bangladesh,...
Rain havoc
Updated 19 Jul, 2025

Rain havoc

Thursday’s events must be seen not as an isolated disaster, but as a warning of what lies ahead.
Shattered Strip
19 Jul, 2025

Shattered Strip

THE Gaza siege has now crossed 650 days and the situation continues to take one ugly turn after another. True, even...
Battling drugs
19 Jul, 2025

Battling drugs

PAKISTAN’s war on drug trafficking has been ongoing for several years. But the country remains awash in the ...