Washington, December 15
US President Joe Biden’s nominee for next envoy to India has assured American lawmakers that he would “fully support the law of the land” and the implementation of CAATSA as he underlined that the waiver provision is part of the tough law.
During his confirmation hearing as US Ambassador to India on Tuesday, 50-year-old Eric Michael Garcetti, a close confidant of President Biden, also said that the growing defence trade between India and the US is one of the major success stories of the bilateral relations.
Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA is a tough US law which authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.
Responding to a question on enforcement of CAATSA sanctions on India now that New Delhi has started receiving delivery of the S-400 missile system from Russia, Garcetti, currently the Mayor of Los Angeles, said he fully supports the law of the land and the implementation of CAATSA as law.
“I don’t want to prejudge the Secretary’s decision about sanctions or a waiver. And I do want to tell the Chairman, Ranking Member (and) all the members (of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee). I do fully support the law of the land, the implementation of CAATSA as law here and part of that is the waiver provision,” said Garcetti.
In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system S-400, notwithstanding warning from the then Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may trigger US sanctions under CAATSA.
Alexander Mikheyev, the head of Russia’s state-run military firm Rosoboronexport, said last month that Moscow has started delivery of the components of the S-400 air defence missile systems to India.
Garcetti said, if confirmed, he would advocate the continued diversification of India’s weapons systems, and the threats to US own weapons systems.
“If that diversification doesn’t occur because we have to protect our data and our systems,” he said, adding that he would work towards growing the India-US Major Defence Partnership.
Amid a looming threat of US sanctions on India over its procurement of S-400 missile systems from Russia, India has said that it takes sovereign decisions based on threat perception and to keep the armed forces in a state of readiness to meet the entire spectrum of security challenges.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, replying to a question in Lok Sabha on December 3, said the government is aware of all developments that may impact procurement of defence equipment.
Bhatt said the S-400 missile is a potent system and India’s air defence capability will be significantly enhanced following its induction.
During the confirmation hearing, Garcetti praised the increasing defence trade between the US and India.
“I think it is one of the great success stories of the last few decades from zero to USD 20 billion in procurement, the intelligence sharing that we have, the interoperability, the exercises, the maritime work that we’re doing,” he said.
India is the only designated Major Defence Partner of the United States.
Having concluded four major defence enabling agreements since 2016, the United States and India have made significant progress as Major Defence Partners and America looks forward to further increasing information sharing, bilateral and multilateral exercises, maritime security cooperation, liaison officer exchanges, and logistical cooperation.
Responding to questions related to human rights in India, Garcetti assured the lawmakers that he would personally be talking to various stakeholders in India on this issue.
“I would not only just bring it up, but it would not be something at the end as an obligation. It will be a core piece of what I’ll be engaging my Indian counterparts have confirmed with,” he said.
“There’s no question that the US India relationship should be underpinned by our common commitment to democracy, human rights and to civil society…If confirmed, I will actively raise these issues. I’ll raise them with humility. It’s a two-way street on these, but I intend to engage directly with civil society,” he said.
“There are groups that are actively fighting for the human rights of people on the ground in India that will get direct engagement from me. We know that democracies are complicated and we can look at our own and at India’s, but it’s a cornerstone of our shared values,” Garcetti said.
