India has signed a billion-dollar deal with Boeing to buy four maritime surveillance planes, defence and aviation sources said Wednesday, as it looks to counter China in the Indian Ocean. 
 
The deal for four P-8I aircraft follows India&#39;s earlier purchase of eight of the planes from the American aerospace giant in 2009. 
 
&quot;The deal has been signed. The delivery dates are being worked out,&quot; a defence ministry source told AFP, adding that the deal was worth more than a billion dollars. 
 
India has already deployed its original eight long-range P-8I aircraft to track submarine movements in the Indian Ocean. 
 
The navy is looking to beef up its fleet to strengthen its capabilities against submarines and surface ships. 
 
&quot;India has a vast maritime border and these planes are meant for long-range surveillance,&quot; a Boeing official told AFP, adding that a clause in the earlier agreement provided for New Delhi to purchase four more planes. 
 
&quot;The navy will likely deploy them in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal to counter Chinese influence in the seas,&quot; the official said. 
 
India, the world&#39;s number one defence importer, is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware. 
 
The country has signed several big-ticket defence deals since Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party stormed to power in 2014. 
 
Other deals have been mired in bureaucratic wrangles, however, notably the agreement to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France&#39;s Dassault Aviation which has been pending since 2012. 
 
Modi&#39;s government has raised the limit on foreign investment in the defence sector and encouraged tie-ups between foreign and local companies. 
 
Modi has also called for the manufacturing of defence equipment locally and cut down reliance on expensive imports. 
 
(AFP) 
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The P-8I Poseidons will help India bolster its navy as New Delhi tries to check China's presence in the Indian Ocean

India has signed a billion-dollar deal with Boeing to buy four maritime surveillance planes, defence and aviation sources said Wednesday, as it looks to counter China in the Indian Ocean. The deal for four P-8I aircraft follows India's earlier purchase of eight of the planes from the American aerospace giant in 2009. "The deal has been signed. The delivery dates are being worked out," a defence ministry source told AFP, adding that the deal was worth more than a billion dollars. India has already deployed its original eight long-range P-8I aircraft to track submarine movements in the Indian Ocean. The navy is looking to beef up its fleet to strengthen its capabilities against submarines and surface ships. "India has a vast maritime border and these planes are meant for long-range surveillance," a Boeing official told AFP, adding that a clause in the earlier agreement provided for New Delhi to purchase four more planes. "The navy will likely deploy them in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal to counter Chinese influence in the seas," the official said. India, the world's number one defence importer, is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware. The country has signed several big-ticket defence deals since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party stormed to power in 2014. Other deals have been mired in bureaucratic wrangles, however, notably the agreement to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation which has been pending since 2012. Modi's government has raised the limit on foreign investment in the defence sector and encouraged tie-ups between foreign and local companies. Modi has also called for the manufacturing of defence equipment locally and cut down reliance on expensive imports. (AFP)

India orders 4 more maritime spy planes from Boeing worth $1 billion

Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar made an unannounced visit to Beijing to enlist support for India&#39;s bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which is being opposed by China. 
 
Jaishankar&#39;s visit came a week ahead of the plenary meeting of the 48-nation atomic trading bloc scheduled to be held in Seoul, South Korea on June 24 where India&#39;s membership is likely to be discussed. 
 
&quot;Yes, I can confirm foreign secretary visited Beijing on June 16-17 for bilateral consultations with his Chinese counterpart. All major issues, including India&#39;s NSG membership, were discussed,&quot; Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today. 
 
China has been strongly opposing India&#39;s membership at the premier club, arguing that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 
 
Earlier this week, China&#39;s official media said India&#39;s NSG membership would &quot;jeopardise&quot; China&#39;s national interests, besides touching a &quot;raw nerve&quot; in Pakistan. The Chinese foreign ministry had said a week back that members of the NSG &quot;remain divided&quot; on the issue of non-NPT countries joining it and called for &quot;full discussions&quot;. 
 
India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its membership of the bloc whose members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. 
 
The US has backed India and asked various NSG members to support New Delhi&#39;s bid. 
 
It is understood that a number of countries including Turkey, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand were not in favour of India&#39;s entry into the NSG. 
 
India had managed to secure support of NSG members Switzerland and Mexico during Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s recent visit to these two countries as part of a five-nation tour. Mexico and Switzerland were known to have strong nuclear proliferation concerns and were not in favour of allowing NSG membership to countries which were not signatory to NPT. 
 
The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country&#39;s vote against India will scuttle its bid. 
 
India&#39;s access to the NSG, a body that regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the international market for India&#39;s domestic nuclear energy programme. 
 
India has been campaigning for membership of the bloc for last few years and had formally moved its application on May 12. 
 
The NSG had granted an exclusive waiver to India in 2008 to access civil nuclear technology after China reluctantly backed India&#39;s case based on the Indo-US nuclear deal. 
(PTI)

India's access to the NSG is expected to open up the international market for India's domestic nuclear energy programme

Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar made an unannounced visit to Beijing to enlist support for India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which is being opposed by China. Jaishankar's visit came a week ahead of the plenary meeting of the 48-nation atomic trading bloc scheduled to be held in Seoul, South Korea on June 24 where India's membership is likely to be discussed. "Yes, I can confirm foreign secretary visited Beijing on June 16-17 for bilateral consultations with his Chinese counterpart. All major issues, including India's NSG membership, were discussed," Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today. China has been strongly opposing India's membership at the premier club, arguing that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Earlier this week, China's official media said India's NSG membership would "jeopardise" China's national interests, besides touching a "raw nerve" in Pakistan. The Chinese foreign ministry had said a week back that members of the NSG "remain divided" on the issue of non-NPT countries joining it and called for "full discussions". India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its membership of the bloc whose members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. The US has backed India and asked various NSG members to support New Delhi's bid. It is understood that a number of countries including Turkey, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand were not in favour of India's entry into the NSG. India had managed to secure support of NSG members Switzerland and Mexico during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to these two countries as part of a five-nation tour. Mexico and Switzerland were known to have strong nuclear proliferation concerns and were not in favour of allowing NSG membership to countries which were not signatory to NPT. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. India's access to the NSG, a body that regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the international market for India's domestic nuclear energy programme. India has been campaigning for membership of the bloc for last few years and had formally moved its application on May 12. The NSG had granted an exclusive waiver to India in 2008 to access civil nuclear technology after China reluctantly backed India's case based on the Indo-US nuclear deal. (PTI)

Indian foreign secretary makes unannounced visit to China on Nuclear Suppliers Group issue

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India orders 4 more maritime spy planes from Boeing worth $1 billion

Indian foreign secretary makes unannounced visit to China on Nuclear Suppliers Group issue