The Rising Horizon: Dynamics of Indo-French Defence Relations

The centuries-old and traditionally cordial relations between the proponents of a multi-polar world led by regional democracies like France and India have entered new realms of bilateral co-operation with their roots entrenched in history. A wide-ranging and ever-increasing cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, science & technology, defence, counter-terrorism, nuclear energy, culture and education along with growing commercial exchanges through the medium of structured talks has been a hallmark of a perfect binary between France and India.

Tracing the early times, India interacted with France for the first time during the Mughal era through French physicians, who shared their knowledge of medicine and provided expertise to the Mughals.^[i]The roots of military relations between the two stretch back to the Carnatic wars. Later on in 1782, under the leadership of Louis XVI, France formed a coalition with Peshwa Madhav Rao. Even during the British regime, many Indian freedom fighters took refuge in French establishments in India. On a symbiotic note, some of the prominent French battles like the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, Battle of Armentières and others involved troops from the Indian sub-continent. Such factors have helped in building incessant trust and encouraged mutual cooperation

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1949, defence co-operation has proved to be a cornerstone in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, as after independence, India became quite vulnerable to attacks by Pakistan. Therefore, acquiring credible armed forces for safeguarding its critical security interests became a compulsion for India. India was in dire need to procure defence apparatus to encounter anticipated intimidations from Pakistan. In such a situation, France was seen as a reliable partner to acquire defence equipment. The equipment included “mountain kits for troops operating in Kashmir from the Indian Army. Further 71 pieces of MD450 Ouragan aircraft were acquired in 1953. These were followed by purchase of 110 Mystere 4A fighters and 164 AMX13/ Model51 light tanks in 1956”[ii].

The bitter experience of the 1962 war with China proved to be a major turning point for India’s defence policy. The military setback in 1962 forced India to modernise its armed forces and France assisted India wholeheartedly[iii]. “Even at the apex of the Cold War, when India’s rapport with NATO was frequently coloured by mistrust, relations between Paris and New Delhi remained relatively cordial”^[iv].In the early 1980s, France supplied India the most modern Mirage-2000 multirole fighter aircraft to counter the threat posed by Pakistan. Moreover, in 1998, when India decided to go nuclear, France did not denounce India’s decision. Indo- French relations reached nw summits with the establishment of a strategic partnership in 1998.

The Indo-French defence ties further cemented in 2005, when the Indian government took the decision to procure French Scorpène-class submarinesfor Indian defence^[v]. Further, both the countries frequently shared prime-ministerial level visits, where, in January 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy was the chief guest of the Republic Day parade in New Delhi and reciprocally in 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the Guest of Honour in the Bastille Day military parade, where Indian troops marched next to the French troops. In 2016,for the first time in the history of the Republic Day parade, a contingent of French soldiers will be marching alongside the Indian troops in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and his French counterpart François Hollande.Recently, the tribute paid by François Hollande to Indian soldiers martyred on French soil during the first world was seen as a gesture of friendship and an acknowledgement of India’s role in global politics.

The Indo-French strategic dialogue is now expanding to new horizons, and the annual joint military exercises have been growing elaborately each year. Several service exchanges and meetings on industrial collaboration are held regularly under the framework of the Indo-French Defence Cooperation Agreement. The partnership between the two is not only confined to defence and other military apparatus, but France is also assisting Indian Research and Development agencies in  transfer of technology with regards to missiles by helping them collaborate  with the European missile consortium MBDA[vi]. It is important to note that after Russia, France has been one of the most trusted arms suppliers of India. Apart from the strategic dimensions, on the global platform, India’s permanent membership of the UNSC has been consistently supported by France.

In April 2015, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France at the invitation of the French President François Hollande to strengthen Indo-French ties. During the visit Prime Minister Modi criticised the terrorist attack that took place in Paris in January 2015. He underlined that “both the countries are facing the threat of terror on their soil and are determined to support each other in combating this scourge”. The leaders of both countries agreed to deepen cooperation within the framework of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, through information and intelligence-sharing on terror networks and join hands in sharing experiences on dealing with the phenomenally increasing radicalisation.^[vii]

Reinforcing the reliable partnership, India and France signed 17 agreements, including the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra. In the joint statement “the leaders of both the countries stressed the importance of joint military exercises between their Armies (Shakti), Navies (Varuna), and Air Forces (Garuda) and welcomed the participation of the French Carrier Battle Group in the Varuna exercise in the Indian Ocean”.[viii]Modi also conveyed to his French counterpart, the critical operational need for a Multi-role Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force. India asserted on obtaining 36 Rafale jets in a flyaway condition. Experts are of the opinion thatthe Rafale deal will augment the geopolitical and strategic interests of the two countries and may further fuel their trade partnership.

In the joint address, Modi used his ‘Make in India’ initiative to attract top French businesses to invest in India. Furthermore,to lay new emphasis on defence manufacturing by the Government of India, both leaders encouraged their respective business enterprises to tap the potential by entering into arrangements for commensurable development and production of defence equipment in India, including transfer of knowhow and technologies and reap the benefits thereafter. They embraced the announcements made by French defence enterprises in setting up technological and industrial projects in India.  Ameliorating the bilateral relationship, Francois Hollande noted that France would invest 2 billion euros in India.

French President Francois Hollande's visit to India for the Republic Day celebrations will be an impetus for strengthening the Indo-French strategic partnership further.According to India Today, on this eve, both the countries are going to sign the most awaited deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets.^[ix]The deal will be enormously helpful in further strengthening the Indian Air Force. On the other hand, it will be a big fillip to the defence industry in France.^[x] In a nutshell, this shall revitalise the synergy between the two nations and garner new bilateral dimensions, thereby harvesting a wealth of possibilities.

Views expressed by the Authors are personal. Both the Authors are doctoral candidate in School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.