INDIAN NSA NARAYANAN DISCUSSES RUSSIAN MIG-35,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000701

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR PBTS MOPS KDEM KISL PK IN
SUBJECT: INDIAN NSA NARAYANAN DISCUSSES RUSSIAN MIG-35,
CONCERNS ABOUT CHINA, PAKISTAN WITH LT GENERAL MAPLES

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Classified By: Ambassador David Mulford, Reason 1.5 (B,D)


1. (S) Summary: Lieutenant General Maples, Director of the
Defense Intelligence Agency, met with Indian National
Security Advisor MK Narayanan on February 8th to discuss
joint efforts to increase U.S.-India defense cooperation.
NSA Narayanan explained India's longstanding concern about
Chinese defense sales to Pakistan, and asked that the United
States share information to help India better assess the
threat from both countries. Narayanan responded positively
to DCM's demarche on the need for India to sign the
Communications and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA),
and commented that "what the (Indian) military wants it
gets." Narayanan also revealed that the Russian delegation,
which accompanied President Putin on his Republic Day trip to
India, had given him a full briefing on the MIG-35, claiming
that the plane could "hover like a helicopter." DCM and
Defense Attache explained the superiority of the F-16 and
F-18 to the MIG-35, and offered to arrange for a full
briefing on the two aircrafts at Narayanan's convenience.
End Summary.

Concerns about China, Pakistan
--------------


2. (S) Lt General Maples discussed ways to expand India's
defense cooperation with the U.S. during his February 8th
meeting with NSA MK Narayanan. Narayanan briefed Lt General
Maples on his growing concern about defense cooperation
between China and Pakistan. India's relations with China are
now very cordial, "even warm," he explained. The only
remaining issue is the border, and even there, with each
meeting India and China make small steps toward resolving
their differences. He qualified that there has been no leap
forward but, when Prime Minister Singh meets with President
Hu, their body language is always positive and their words
are warm. He said this is because there is a widening
understanding of their simultaneous rise in the world. He
explained further that India is trying to bring its
relationship with Pakistan back to the level it enjoys with
other countries. Nonetheless, India is very concerned about
the military technology that China is transferring to
Pakistan. He said India was very worried about whether
either country will be able to change its underlying defense
doctrine with the advances both countries are making. He
said they were very concerned about China and Pakistan and
the militarization of space. Finally, Narayanan said his
country was worried about Pakistan's claim that it could
destroy U.S. and Indian defense capability.

2b. (S) Narayanan argued that we need to do better in our
intelligence exchange relationship, contrasting our
"excellent" diplomatic cooperation with more restrained and
modest intelligence ties. As usual, he spoke expansively of
the U.S.- India strategic relationship.

Signing CISMOA
--------------


3. (S) DCM demarched Narayanan on the need to sign
fundamental documents to increase the level of U.S.
cooperation on defense and intelligence sharing issues. He
said it was important that India sign the CISMOA in order to
facilitate information sharing with India. He said this was

NEW DELHI 00000701 002.2 OF 002


the next agreement that needed to be signed in order to
facilitate military cooperation with India. NSA Narayanan
responded positively, saying that "what the military wants it
gets," but that he would still have to defend his position to
the Indian Cabinet.

MIG-35 vs F-16 or F-18
--------------


4. (S) Narayanan said a delegation from Russia's Defense
Department had given him a full briefing on the MIG-35 during
President Putin's recent trip to New Delhi. He said they had
given him the "hard sell," claiming that the MIG essentially
could hover like a helicopter. Defense Attache explained
that this was an inaccurate portrayal of the MIG-35's
capability, and that it was essentially the MIG-29 with some
avionics changes. DCM further explained that this was an
opportune time for India to work with the U.S. companies
because both Boeing and Lockheed, who produce the F-18 and
F-16, respectively, were from the private sector, and they
could partner with Indian private companies to produce new
systems. Narayanan asked that the U.S. orchestrate a similar
briefing on the F-16 and F-18 as the Russian delegation had
provided for India.

India Looking to Expand Cooperation
--------------


5. (S) Comment: As one of India's top decision-makers on
defense cooperation, Narayanan's input will be crucial to
determining if India will choose U.S. F-16 or F-18 fighter
planes over the competitors. He was quite forthcoming in his
discussion of China's capability, and it is clear that he
sees information exchange as his newest measure of the U.S.
commitment to advancing ties to India. He seemed infatuated
by what the Russian-led delegation told him about the MIG-35,
and we need to take advantage of his willingness to learn
more about the F-16 and F-18. He is extremely interested in
information we have about China's military capabilities, and
this may provide an opportunity to press India to sign the
CISMOA and expand India's reciprocal cooperation with us.
End comment.
MULFORD