WEBDESK: India and South Africa have formally exchanged two agreements focused on submarine cooperation during an important meeting held in Johannesburg in addition to recent defence deals, raising serious concerns across the region.
The move comes as both nations work to strengthen military ties amid India’s fast-growing ‘naval ambitions’, according to a statement issued by India’s Ministry of Defence.
During the talks, two new agreements in the submarine cooperation sector were formally exchanged.
The Indian delegation included senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Defence Production, the Armed Forces, and the Indian High Commission.
India’s naval build-up threatens regional peace
India’s fresh deal with South Africa on submarine cooperation is another warning sign of its fast-paced and dangerous military buildup, particularly at sea.
While it may be dressed up as routine cooperation, this agreement marks a clear shift towards aggressive posturing, not just against China, but more specifically against Pakistan.
India is not a first-time exposer in terms of hostile activities by using its submarines.
In March and October of 2019, Pakistani naval forces detected and pushed away Indian submarines attempting to enter Pakistani waters.
These incidents followed a pattern of provocative movements, especially after events like the Pulwama attack.
The current push to expand its submarine fleet should not be seen as benign. It seems to be a part of an attempt at another dangerous misadventure.
India’s intentions are clearly not peaceful. With each defence deal, it inches closer to repeating the same reckless adventurism it tried and failed with, in 2019.
India signs defence deals, raises regional tensions
In another worrying development, India’s Ministry of Defence has signed a new deal worth INR 158 crore to procure 450 Nagastra-1R loitering munitions, drones designed for direct, destructive attacks on targets.
This new order follows a similar contract last year, and both are being fulfilled by Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd, a company based in Nagpur and previously known as Economic Explosives Limited.
Sources say these drones must be delivered within a year to meet “urgent requirements” of the Indian Army.
The Nagastra-1R drones are equipped with high-tech cameras, secure communications, and reusable launch systems. Around 80 per cent of their parts are made locally.
These kamikaze drones, along with Israeli-made Harop drones, were reportedly used during India’s failed “Operation Sindoor” against Pakistan on May 7.
India’s military purchases, submarine cooperation signal war preparation, not peacekeeping
India’s recent arms contracts, including kamikaze drones and submarine deals, are not normal upgrades.
These are offensive tools designed for quick, surprise attacks.
This is not about protecting borders. It is about laying the groundwork for conflict.
India’s growing closeness with Israel, a state known for carrying out preemptive strikes, is influencing its current direction.
Emboldened by Tel Aviv’s open aggression against Iran, New Delhi appears to be copying the same playbook, driven by the Modi-Amit Shah-Doval axis.
What India is preparing for is not defence, but confrontation. The Hindutva-led regime is stockpiling attack drones, battlefield equipment, and long-range capabilities, not to deter threats, but to provoke them.
Following the complete failure of “Operation Sindoor,” Indian leaders are now fuelling war hysteria to deflect from their own failures, military, diplomatic, and domestic.
This isn’t just a drone deal, it’s a dangerous mindset.
A mindset that sees war as a political tool. A mindset that sacrifices peace to feed nationalist narratives. And a mindset that threatens the region with another round of reckless misadventure.
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