Washington: Ro Khanna, an Indian-American Congressman, has introduced a legislative amendment in the US House of Representatives seeking a waiver to India against the punitive Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, highlighting that it will strengthen US-India defence ties and deter "aggressors."
CAATSA 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 interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.
While making a legislative amendment, Khanna, the Democratic lawmaker from California, said, “while India faces immediate needs to maintain its heavily Russian-built weapons systems, a waiver to sanctions under the CAATSA, during this transition period is in the best interest of the US and the US-India defence partnership to deter aggressors in light of Russia and China’s close partnership”.
The amendment says that India faces direct and serious regional border threats from China, with continued military aggression by China along the border. Noting that India relies on Russian-built weapons for its national defence, the amendment says that the United States should take additional steps to encourage India to accelerate its transition from Russian-built weapons and defence systems while strongly supporting India’s immediate defence needs.
India's ministry of external affairs said that the country was pursuing an independent foreign policy and its defence acquisitions are guided by its national security interests. In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then-Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.
