The short war fought between India and Pakistan in May has given way not to diplomacy, but to a dangerous global arms shopping spree. Just six months after their confrontation, the two perpetual south Asian rivals are "frenetically surveying the world's weapons market" to procure deadly arms for their next round of conflict. Paradoxically, the countries that were instrumental in coaxing the nuclear-armed neighbours to end hostilities are now selling them top-of-the-line fighter jets, combat choppers, missile defence systems, and suicide drones for billions of dollars.
The fragile ceasefire has held for several months, yet occasional gunfights between allegedly Pakistan- backed rebel fighters and Indian troops in Kashmir remind the world how easily peace can become unstuck. With repression unleashed by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Kashmiris at an all-time high, and young men in the region still willing to resist, the question is not if, but when the next conflict will erupt. The intensity of the last war, which saw the two countries hurling missiles and drones at each other for four days, does not bode well for the region.
Global powers prioritise profit over mediation
The concern for peace previously shown by the US, UK, China, and several Arab countries now appears to be "outweighed by arms suppliers' desire to profit" from the frantic race between India and Pakistan to outgun each other. Both countries have turned to trusted allies to beef up their conventional arsenals.
India, fearing the loss of its technological edge is looking to acquire more than 100 Rafale jets from France. The Indian Air Force is also keen to obtain two to three squadrons of stealth fighter jets, considering either the Russian Sukhoi-57 or American F-35. The Indian military's desperation may push New Delhi closer to its historically reliable supplier, Moscow.
Simultaneously, China has fast-tracked the supply of 40 J-35 stealth fighters to its ally, Pakistan. The Chinese military leadership seems so pleased with Pakistan's performance in the May confrontation that it is now willing to indulge Islamabad's every wish. China supplied the Z-10ME all-weather combat helicopter in August and intends to provide KJ-500 early warning aircraft and the HQ-19 missile defence system. This massive economic benefit from arms sales in south Asia has created strange bedfellows.
Russia, which is at odds with the US and France in Ukraine, now accounts for 36 per cent of India's arms imports, followed by France with 33 per cent. This shortsighted policy of bolstering the conventional arsenals of two nuclear powers could prove calamitous for the whole world.