New Delhi: According to a report by The Press Trust of India (PTI), India will appoint several defence attaches in a number of countries like Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Philippines, Poland and Armenia. This expansion of the attaches aligns with the goal of Bharat to expand its strategic ties with key regions amid the growing presence of the Chinese military in India’s neighbourhood.

A total of 16 total defence attaches from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force will hold the positions shortly. PTI reported this incident on Wednesday.

It is also learned that New Delhi is planning to rationalize the strength of military officials in its embassy in Moscow and high commission in London. A few of the defence attaches will be deployed as a part of the rationalization process to align with New Delhi’s foreign policy.

Increasing Defence ties with key allies

This decision comes at a time when the ties with China are strained after the incident at the Indo-China border. The Chinese have continued to claim Indian territory in the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet. China has been successful in making the ‘string of pearls’ around the Indian Subcontinent surrounding India from all sides.

New Delhi has continued with its ‘necklace of diamonds’ strategy to maintain a presence close to the Chinese presence in the Indian subcontinent. To date, China has only confirmed an overseas military facility in Djibouti. The new defence attaché for Djibouti will be the second in the Island Nation. Djibouti serves as a major maritime gateway around the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The presence in Djibouti will increase defence ties with the country providing access to crucial Red Sea shipping lanes.

The defence attachés’ in Mozambique, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast are in line to increase their presence in the African continent, amid China’s increasing influence in African nations.

India for years has been increasing its defence ties with foreign countries. Despite the breaks in good relations with many countries, the defence treaties and agreements between the nations have grown much.

New Delhi-Armenia ties

Armenia is considered an ally growing closer and closer. This started with India stepping up the arms sales to help Armenia with its war with Azerbaijan. Since then the defence ties have grown with Armenia purchasing the Indian Swathi weapon-locating radar system in 2020. After this, a bilateral agreement was signed to provide ammunition and multi-barrel rocket launchers for Pinaka.

In November 2022, Kalyani Strategic Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge, won a $155 million contract to supply guns to Armenia. “We have cooperation in the defence, and we are looking for what to make our cooperation much deeper,” Armenian Labour Minister, Narek Mrkrtchyan said in response to a question about planned defence deals between the two countries.

New Delhi-Philippines ties

To resist the growing Chinese influence in the South China Sea, the Indian Government have increased military ties with the ASEAN countries. The growing tie with Indonesia is an example where Indian Nay got military access to several bases. Similar agreements with the Vietnamese government have also been successful.

The defence attaché expansion to the Philippines is a path to grow the defence relation with the nation. In January 2022, India sealed a deal with the Philippines to supply batteries for the Brahmos cruise missile worth $375 million. The supplies of the missiles will begin soon, PTI reported.

EU Expansion

New Delhi has also decided to appoint a defence attaché in Poland, which is a member of the European Union (EU). This decision reflects India’s willingness to increase defence ties. Similarly, the EU sent their defence attaché to India in 2023.