Obama, Gates And Clinton In Asia: U.S. Expands Military Build-Up In The East
Rick Rozoff
President Barack Obama arrived in Mumbai, India on November 6 and announced $10 billion in business deals with his host country which he claimed will contribute to creating 50,000 new American jobs. By some accounts half the transactions will be for India's purchase of U.S. military equipment and half the new jobs will be created in the defense sector.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is completing a nearly two-week tour of the Asia-Pacific region which will culminate in meeting up with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen in Australia on November 8 to among other matters secure the use of the country's military bases.
Gates will then visit Malaysia, "amid concern in the region over China's growing economic and naval power" [1], to solidify military ties with the Southeast Asian nation as Obama moves to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan after his first visit to India on what will be his longest trip abroad since assuming the presidency.
Obama styles himself "America's first Pacific president," having been born in Hawaii and spending part of his childhood in Indonesia, and his administration has targeted Asia for the expansion of U.S. military influence and presence.
Several months ago a Chinese report warned that his visit to India was designed in large part to "secure $5 billion worth of arms sales," a deal that "would make the US replace Russia as India's biggest arms supplier" and "help India curb China's rise." [2]
What he has accomplished is "a $5 billion sale for 10 of Boeing's C-17 cargo planes" which represents "the sixth biggest arms deal in U.S. history."
"This and the pending $60 billion deal with Saudi Arabia will certainly help to jump-start the economy, as they [arms sales] have for the past fifty years." [3]
Job creation in the U.S. is an abysmal failure except in the military sector.
"Boeing said the C-17 deal with India will support 650 suppliers in 44 U.S. states and support the company's own C-17 production facility in Long Beach, California, for an entire year." [4]
Other deals included an $822 million contract for General Electric to provide 107 F414 engines for the Tejas lightweight multirole jet fighter being developed by India.
Rahul Bedi, Indian-based correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly, recently revealed that since U.S. sanctions enforced after India's 1998 nuclear tests were lifted in 2001 "India has concluded and signed arms contract worth $12 billion. This includes maritime reconnaissance aircraft (Boeing P-81), missiles, artillery guns, radars and transport aircraft.
"India is also buying heavy lift transport for the air force (C-17s). An artillery radar contract was the first of its kind worth $142 million. Over the next years, India is going to go for repeat orders of C-17s [Globemaster IIIs], C-130J Super Hercules [military transport aircraft], etc." and "these contracts are worth another 7 to 8 billion dollars." [5]
The projected purchase of 126 multirole combat aircraft will account for another $10 billion and other contracts for assorted military helicopters are also being pursued by Washington. What is in question is $15 billion in weapons deals.
With already concluded and potential contracts, "we are talking about very, very big business. We are talking about the shifting of Indian military hardware, completely.
"Shifting from Russian components to American ones is a big shift. In the mid-90s, the Pentagon had assessed that by 2015 [it] would like India to source it's 25 per cent of hardware. They seem to be well on their way in meeting their target.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
