Now Russia and India are boosting military ties as U.S. presence continues to shrink on the world stage

(NationalSecurity.news) As the Obama administration continues its global retreat, military ties between potential U.S. adversaries are increasing, and that is especially true of ties between Russia and China.

But a newly-inked military and technological cooperation agreement between Russia and India demonstrate how ties between New Delhi and Moscow are also undermining U.S. efforts to remain relevant in a region where it is increasingly difficult for the U.S. and its allies to operate.

As noted by the Russia-India Report, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar described Moscow as a “privileged” strategic partner in the field of military technology, indicating that the two countries’ ties are set to increase even more in the future.

“We have very close and strong connections in the area of defense. Russia has been and remains to date India’s leading partner,” Parrikar said.

Parrikar said earlier that he expected to sign an agreement to purchase the S-400 Triumf air defense system from Moscow. Cmdr. Abhijit Singh, of the Indian Navy, told Sputnik recently that New Delhi was also planning to lease Russian-made Akula II-class submarines.

Russia is among India’s foremost weapons suppliers. More than two-thirds of the equipment used by the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy is Russian- or Soviet-made.

Increased ties between Russia and India come at a time when the U.S. military is getting smaller. As reported by Stars and Stripes, House and Senate members squeezed $5 billion from the current 2016 National Defense Authorization bill that President Obama vetoed last week. Much of the savings will come from reduced fuel costs, what with oil prices on the decline, but other savings come from maintenance and readiness accounts for the Army and Air National Guard.

However, the report noted that both branches will still receive funding above what was requested in DoD and White House budget plans.

In June, The Diplomat reported that military trade relations between Russia and India were on the decline, following decades of enhanced cooperation.

“For close to half a century Russia has been New Delhi’s foremost military supplier. In fact, defense trade became the raison d’être for strategic relations between the two nations – particularly in the post-Cold War era,” the online publication reported.

However, military sales have been declining steadily, the report noted, as India and the U.S. warmed relations and New Delhi sought new economic ties with the West. Part of the decline has been due to Russia’s growing military trade with India rival Pakistan.

Still, most regional experts believe Russia and India, historically, have shared nearly identical interests. And they see ties between Moscow and New Delhi as growing.

“The last decade and a half has witnessed remarkable strengthening of relations between India and USA across a range of areas including political, strategic, defence, energy and others,” writes Ashok Sajjanhar for The Quint. The same period has seen a significant decline in relations between Russia and the US especially through imposition of far-reaching sanctions since last year over the Ukraine crisis.”

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See also:

http://www.nationalsecurity.news/2015-11-03-are-russia-and-china-forming-a-massive-anti-u-s-coalition.html

http://in.rbth.com/economics/defence/2015/11/02/rusia-india-sign-military-technical-cooperation-agreement_536497

http://www.stripes.com/news/congress-reaches-deal-to-cut-5-billion-from-defense-budget-1.376792

http://thediplomat.com/2015/06/russia-and-india-a-21st-century-decline/

http://www.thequint.com/opinion/2015/09/02/time-to-revitalise-a-flagging-india-russia-partnership