The most important agreement signed during the visit of US secretary of states ,Hillary Clinton was the End use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA).It empowers United states officer from Pentagon ,to perform timely inspection of the weapons ,devices and technology imported from US ,to check if the end use of these comply with the purpose for which it is imported.
S.M Krishna, the external affairs minister of India explains signing of EUMA as victory for India ,as two years of back breaking negotiation with US has earned dividends. US has agreed to the India’s clause, that the inspection would be done at the place and time, mutually agreed by the two nation and not at the discretion of US. Even though our external minister is confident that this clause would safeguard India’s security concerns, the Army, Navy and Air force chiefs have shown utmost concern over this issue. This has become a heated issue in the parliament after Mr. Manmohan Singh’s statements supporting the agreement raised a few eye brows and invited ferocious counter arguments. Fellow parliamentarians showed concern, anger and great need for rational rethinking on the issue.
The concerns are many and danger to India’s security may be lurking on every bend of the agreement. The primary concern being the US officer can inspect each and every weapon, devices and even technology that is being imported from US. It is highly impractical and most often impossible to separate out technology or may be a device that has been imported and installed in already established indigenous systems, in India’s high security zones. Even if it is separated out for inspection , what is the guarantee that it will adhere back to the system again effectively. If such situation arises, then the only way out for the US officers to check the end use ,will be by accessing this high security Indian zones. This is a direct encroachment to India defense system and its internal secrets. Another aspect of this is the Indigenous softwares used in these established systems might be of superior technology, which might have been unknown to US, would come to their knowledge with this kind of end-use inspections.
Secondly, may be the more importantly ,no other country from whom India has been importing weapons ,had never asked for any end use agreement compliance .Russia being a long time friend of India and major source of weapons, device and technology that India is still using ,has never asked for any end use agreement. The sukhoi 30 MKI ,fighter jets purchased from Russia is one of the latest in technology and is superiority is been appreciated by even US. The latest introduction of INS Arihant, nuclear powered submarine by Indian navy, owes a lot to the support extended by Russia on the technological know-how and with design level expertise. It is not just Russia that we import weapons, other European countries like France are also a part of the pool of nations from were we import and they never asked for any EUMA agreement. By signing this EUMA of US, have we send a wrong message to our existing friends?. Tomorrow if EUMA is adopted by Russian and later by other nations, then logically India would be forced to comply to maintain the relationship. If this happens then, signing of EUMA of US would be the strategic flaw in Indian history.
The antithesis to this would be the philosophy of strengthening ties with US .India understands the need for having a strategic relationship with US and this agreement would definitely help in cementing the bonds. America see India as a strategic point through which it can control Asia and India foresees a rapid development with this relationship. The worsening of relationship with Russia over the Admiral Gorshkov deal gives relationship with America, a new dimension. Now a million dollar question arises, Is India compromising its principles of Non-Alignment for its interest of rapid devleopment and eventually forgetting its old friends as it strives to become the fourth dimension; US, Russia, china and India?
Its obvious EUMA has paved way to rethink our international polices,
India should not be a cause of another polarization of the world. The leaders of the country should handle this in such a manner that ,its exclusive to India and at the same time there is a dire requirement of reconsideration on EUMA. It has its share of advantages and disadvantages, it will be beneficial only if India can tide over its pernicious clauses which are sobering concern for our security and sovereignty. Definitely the future lies in the hands of the intellectuals of this country ,whom we elected , to produce the best for the country. Shashi Tharoor has written in one of his books The great Indian elephant has awaken from his deep slumber of over 50 years and its slowly changing into a tiger, with heart and size of an elephant but still young and proactive in first decade of the 21st century, its time to say whether the stripes on the elephant grows to permanency or whether it will fade away, forever.
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