Rajnath Singh's Russia visit: Can India get S-400 missile system early?

In this article, senior journalist, Aroonim Bhuyan outlines the key priority for India when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh embarks on a three-day visit to Russia on Monday. Bhuyan also mentions that the early acquisition of the S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile system from Moscow will be the main priority for New Delhi.

New Delhi:With Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday embarking on a three-day visit to Russia in the backdrop of the violent border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh earlier this month, a key priority for New Delhi will be the early acquisition of the S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile system from Moscow.

India and Russia had signed the $5.4-billion missile deal on the sidelines of the annual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi in 2018.

The S-400 missile deal has been an issue of much speculation after the US administration's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) law came into effect in January 2018.

CAATSA targets countries doing business with Russian, Iranian and North Korean defence companies.

A group of US senators imposed the sanctions on Russia over what they called Moscow's continued involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Syria and its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

Though the systems were supposed to be delivered between October 2020 and April 2023, the Russian Embassy in New Delhi earlier this year said that the delivery has been delayed till 2025 as deals for the system crossed $16 billion across the world.

Read:Top army commanders meeting in South Block; Ladakh, Galwan top on agenda

Now with the latest flashpoint in India-China ties following the violent border clash in Ladakh this month that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, New Delhi will be keen to acquire the system at the earliest. China has already got delivery of the system from Russia.

Ahead of his departure for Moscow earlier on Monday, Rajnath Singh tweeted that the visit will "give me an opportunity to hold talks on ways to further deepen the India-Russia defence and strategic partnership."

India and Russia share a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" and Moscow continues to be a key supplier of defence equipment for India.

Reports suggest that since China has already acquired the S-400 missile system from Russia, this has become an additional source of concern for India.

Singh, who will be representing India in Russia’s 75th World War II Victory Day Parade in Moscow on Wednesday, will hold a separate bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu during the course of which the S-400 missile system issue is expected to figure.

According to observers, acquiring the system as early as possible given the uncertain situation along the border with China has become a priority for India.

“One key agenda on Defence minister Rajnath Singh’s Moscow trip will be to try and persuade the Russians to expedite the delivery of the S-400 air defence missile system,” New Delhi-based strategic affairs expert Nitin A. Gokhale told ETV Bharat.

Singh is expected to request the Russians to prioritise India’s and may ask for delivery of at least two systems by 2021, it is reliably learnt.

Under the contract, Russia will supply five such systems to India and New Delhi has already made a large part of the payments.