In any case, engagement with Israel cannot be rationally rolled back. Israel’s economy is structured perfectly to meet India’s requirements as a trading partner. It has the highest number of patents per capita in the world and the largest number of start-up companies after the United States. India-Israel trade now stands at $3.3 billion: more than 30 per cent of Indian defence imports come from Israel. According to Defence Minister A.K. Antony, New Delhi purchased $5 billion worth of hardware in a five-year period up to 2006. Any disengagement, besides, runs the risk of alienating valuable allies on Capitol Hill.

The problem is not exclusively with the Left. The UPA government itself is rather squeamish about its relationship with Israel. The Manmohan Singh government pushed the bilateral relationship to subterranean levels. It has virtually ended high-level political engagement — Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is the senior-most minister in the current administration to have made an official visit to Tel Aviv.

Even defence purchases have been under scrutiny, following the CBI investigation of the Barak missile deal. This is a severe problem. Regardless of the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s claims, indigenous defence capability is not sufficient to reproduce the much-needed equipment that Israel provides. From sensors that counter infiltration on the Line of Control all the way up to research on developing an anti-ballistic missile shield, Israeli companies play a key role in India’s defence. This September, Israel delivers the first of three PHALCON advanced airborne warning platforms to India, which the air force will mount on a Russian IL-76 aircraft. When complemented with a mid-air refuelling capability, the PHALCON system will lead to a manifold enhancement of Indian strategic reach. Any “disentanglement” would mean that the armed forces would be at the mercy of erratic Russian hardware suppliers, who are more than ready to extract their pound of flesh — and always open to pressure from China. The Left would do well to remember that Beijing would love to be in New Delhi’s position: in 2000, the Chinese made extraordinary efforts to buy the early warning systems from Israel, but the US did not let the sale go through.

... contd.