The India-French alliance is undoubtedly one of the strongest connections that exists in the oriental-occidental contact ever since the end of the Second World War. The Indo-French cooperation has been one partnership which has steadily grown in support from pillar to pillar ever since the emergence of India as an independent nation-state in 1947. France was one of the few western countries which provided India with armed support during the 1971 and 1999 conflicts with Pakistan and interestingly congratulated India during the 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests.
The G20 presidency of India has enabled India to evolve the Indo-French ties to the next level from the level of strategic partnership. The ties now encompass not just in the domain of trade and commerce but also in the fields of defence, geostrategy, culture and people to people ties. One prominent sign of French influence in Indian culture and policy circles is the influence that the French New Wave cinema has exerted in the making of Indian art cinema. French academics also dominate the intellectual circles of the country’s premier educational and social institutions.
However, one area which has been in the spotlight for quite some time is the defence aspect of this strategic partnership. Without delving much into history, it is necessary to understand that France has been undoubtedly one of the most reliable states when it comes to the deliverance of reliable and potent arms. The acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets and the further order of additional fighter jets is a testimony to the importance of developing the defence ties between the two nations further.
An important aspect of this defence tie is the Project 75I – the Indo-French deal to supply six Scorpene diesel submarines to form the backbone of India’s undersea naval arsenal. The advantage of these submarines is that they make less sound, are more energy efficient and interestingly emit less carbon emissions than the conventional submarines.
Some additional areas where India and France can explore to expand their defence partnership is in the area of drone technology and artificial intelligence. Drones have changed the nature of electronic and battlefield warfare as is seen in the increasing use of Iranian made drones by Russia against the Ukrainian forces. Cooperation on drone manufacturing should emphasise not only on the reconnaissance purposes but also for combat purposes, like the American predator and reaper drones and the armed Heron drones used by the Israeli Defence Forces. While India has already acquired the swarm drones whose devastation capabilities were seen in a simulatory mode in the Call of Duty Modern Warfare series of games (2019 and 2022), India is yet to develop the hunter killer capability drones of the American models.
Artificial intelligence is the next big thing in the realm of defence partnership between India and France. The government which has made it a point to boost technological defence exports can actually focus on encouraging the private sector and public sector to enter into partnerships with French firms to encourage the already vibrant start-up ecosystem of India. The scope in this area is enormous. The killer robots and super soldier programs which appear to be the harbinger of tech disruption in the field of defence will be run by artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence in the future can also run pilotless jets, armoured vehicles thereby making the armed forces of both countries leaner and tech savvy. There is also a distinct possibility of both the countries’ guarding their internal and external arenas of security solely based on the technological dimension in the near future.
The Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme which the government of India has unveiled in 2021 is reaping dividends with the private sector in the defence field slowly flourishing. This could be very well extended to French firms who intend to contribute to the Make in India story and promote the autarky spirit of India.
European Union dimension
The evolving prospects and scope of Indo-French defence cooperation can’t be seen to be exclusive of the broader India-European Union relationship context. European Union is the second biggest destination for Indian exports after USA; products ranging from chemicals to petroleum products to Indian spices make its way to the EU. It is therefore quite easy to fathom the importance of this relationship. The defence ties between India and EU in the form of the latter as a grouping is not encouraging.
Only France is the major partner of India within the EU. There is tremendous scope for enhancement to Indo-EU defence ties. One such area is the fighter jet program; the Indian Air Force is in dire need of jets and the Eurofighter typhoon can become a viable alternative to the Rafale. However, with India keen on indigenising the programme, the focus can be on joint development of a 5th generation fighter jet. India can ask for Germany’s help in buying the deadly Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks.
A new and innovative area of cooperation is the doctrinal help the EU’s main work horses can give in helping India formulate an inclusive and holistic national security doctrine. While a doctrine may not help much in the field of actual war, yet it plays a defining role in shaping the nature of India’s security outlook and the objectives of the Indian armed forces and the role that India can play in response to the new and emerging threats in the field of defence and security.
A major aspect of India-EU security cooperation is non-traditional security especially human security. Climate security is an essential aspect of non-traditional security. India-EU framework for cooperation on implementing the proceeds of the Paris Accord targets and the resultant initiative to set carbon neutral targets (for India 2070, for EU 2050) can prove to be a gamechanger in the crusade against climate change.
India’s positioning in the Indo-Pacific region
The Indo-French within the broader framework of India-EU cooperation is especially significant in the contextual position of India’s and EU’s position in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific is the current buzzword in the world of geopolitics. India is a major player in this geopolitical and geoeconomic construct owing to India’s position in the strategic Indian Ocean arc so any EU strategy to have a strong foothold in the Indo-Pacific will remain incomplete without taking India onboard.
The principal adversary in the strategic region is China and not Russia because Russia is the main adversary of West in the Eurasia; Russian presence in the Indo-Pacific is poor to say the least. However, it is not the case with China; the dragon sees the Indo-Pacific as a crucial part of its maritime silk route strategy designed to spread Chinese influence and money power globally at the expense of stability of the current international political order.
This is where India and France can come together; joint military drills, reconnaissance operations, naval exercises, and war time exercises involving the armed forces of India and the countries of the EU will help in sending a potential deterrent message to China that brazenness in such a critical geoeconomic region won’t be tolerated.
A key aspect of India-France and EU’s broad Indo-Pacific strategy can be to conduct denial of sea operations and a naval blockade in consonance with international maritime law should circumstances deteriorate to the point of open conflict. However, India and the EU should not be complacent in underestimating the power and potential of China; they might exercise caution which is necessarily the best strategy in this context.
India’s G20 presidency will come in handy in crafting a joint strategy to address the Chinese elephant in the room and take steps to contain the dragon.
Conclusion
India’s G20 presidency is critical for bringing peace and tolerance to a fractured world. In this context, Indo-French cooperation is an important pillar of support for India’s national as well as international interests. Therefore it is expected that the mandarins of Indian foreign policy take prudent steps to strengthen India-France cooperation within the broad EU framework.
– The writer is currently working as a Research Associate at Defence Research and Studies (dras.in) and is a columnist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
–The writer is currently working as a Research Associate at Defence Research and Studies (dras.in) and is a columnist. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
