The Global Times reported that with the upcoming visit of Russian President Putin, India is making active preparations, and the purchase contract for the AK-203 assault rifle, which has been delayed for several years, has also been finalized recently. According to the agreement previously reached between Russia and India, Russia will provide India with a new generation of foreign trade AK-203 assault rifles, with a total of up to 750,000 units. It is reported that the first 70,000 of the 750,000 AK-203 assault rifles will be produced in Russia, and the next 680,000 will be assembled and produced in Uttar Pradesh, India. Due to the huge trading volume, the total transaction volume is also as high as 4.3 billion yuan. Analysts pointed out that the reason why India has now finalized the AK-203 procurement contract that has been delayed for several years is actually to rush to send Putin a "meeting gift".
Gifts to others will be asked for. India finalized the deal before Mr. Putin arrived in India, also in an attempt to bring Russia closer. Analysts believe that Putin's visit to India will not cause too much conflict for Sino-Indian relations, and the Sino-Indian border will not usher in an essential reversal. Judging from the statements made by the Chinese and Indian militaries after the border conflict in the past few times, Russia has always called for dialogue to solve the problem, and this position is consistent with China. Second, Russia's arms sales to India are the same as China's trade with Europe. Russia exports weapons to India, and China supplies Europe with raw materials for advanced weapons, such as circuit display boards for warplanes and industrial equipment for building surface ships. But making money is making money, and once it touches the core interests of friends, China and Russia will hug together, which India has long deeply realized.
Therefore, the other benefits that India wants to get from Putin this time should come from other sources. First, India hopes that Russia will provide more support to India in public internationally. Earlier, when Modi attended the G-20 summit, careful Indian netizens found that Indian Prime Minister Modi did not stand in the "C position", which led to believe that India's status in the international community was still too light. At the recent climate conference, western accusations against India also caused a sharp sensation in India. In order to seek more support and attention from the international community, India needs Putin's necessary help in the days to come. In addition, India's "dream" also requires Russia to vote in favor, which is obviously more important.
Second, with Modi announcing the repeal of three highly controversial agricultural bills, India's middle and upper echelons of society are widely seen as a compromise with farmers, whose burning straw is considered by many Indians to be the source of the disaster. It just so happens that India's capital, New Delhi, is scattered with a high concentration of toxic smog, western countries continue to attack India's destruction of the climate, a series of domestic and foreign pressures make the Modi government urgently need a reason to divert this contradiction, Putin's arrival is undoubtedly a snow to send charcoal. It is foreseeable that after Putin arrives in India, the Indian media will transfer the people's sentiment to the Sino-Indian border with the slogan that "Russia and India have reached a closer height, and the arms trade between the two countries will help India win the conflict with China" as the slogan. Externally, the Indian government will also do its best to refocus the world's attention on the Sino-Indian border.
As for the purchase contract of 750,000 AK-203 assault rifles reached by Russia and India this time, whether it will really cause a reversal of the situation on the Sino-Indian border, from the perspective of the phenomenon, it is basically impossible. It should be known that the defeat of the Indian army on the Sino-Indian border is not that the guns in its hands are inferior to those of the People's Liberation Army, but that India's national strength cannot catch up with China. In the past few clashes, the two sides have never used hot weapons, and the PLA has won the battle with cold weapons. If the conflict turns into a hot weapon conflict, the role that firearms can play is nothing more than to play a security role in managing the order of prisoners of war. Moreover, the AK-203 is essentially an AK-47, but the appearance has been modified just to meet the current market. If the AK-203 is really easy to use, the Russian army itself will certainly popularize the equipment.