Why is it in the News?

As India expands its presence in defense diplomacy and plans to deploy Defense Attachés to Indian missions in Africa, Armenia, and the Philippines, experts and experienced diplomats advise against simply "rationalizing" their numbers.

What’s a Defense Attaché?

• According to the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), a defence attaché is a member of the armed forces serving at an embassy as a “representative of his/her country’s defence establishment abroad and in this capacity enjoys the diplomatic status and immunity.
• The defence attaché’s work usually concerns bilateral military and defence relations.
• Some countries send attachés for security issues, such as migration or matters relating to police and justice.
• The defence attachés are also responsible for facilitating communication and cooperation between their home nation’s armed forces and the host country’s military.
• They act as military and/or security advisors to their country’s ambassador and embassy staff.
• They can also promote their home nation’s military weapons industry.
• Defence attachés collect and examine military intelligence, facilitate military cooperation pacts, and give an evaluation of security issues to their home country’s government.
• They also act as a link between diplomats and the military.

India to Send Defence Attachés to New Countries:

• India has started dispatching defence attachés to many new countries, while reportedly downsizing the military personnel at its missions in some other nations.
• 15-16 new attaches from the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force (IAF), and the Indian Army are being posted to Poland, the Philippines, Armenia, and the African countries of Tanzania, Mozambique, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Ivory Coast.
• In the next phase, 10 entirely new defence wings will be created in different countries, with a particular focus on nations to which arms can be exported.

Why the Other Countries Matter?

• India dispatching a defense attaché to Poland, which is a part of the European Union (EU) and has emerged as an important security partner in Europe in recent years, is also significant.
• The EU posted a military attaché to its mission in India for the first time last year. India’s move to do the same in Poland is “reflective of the desire to expand two-way defence ties.
• Armenia has become a major exporter of India’s arms.
• India has already inked deals with the Asian country for Pinaka rockets, Akash missiles, ammunition, and multi-barrel rocket launchers, with some of them coming amid Armenia’s clash with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Armenia has shown interest in expanding its defence ties with India.
• China’s military assertiveness in the South China Sea has prompted India to grow military ties with ASEAN countries.
  • India’s decision to send defence attachés for the first time to the Philippines comes in the wake of the sale of Indian arms to Manila.
• India signed a $375 million deal with the Philippines in 2022 to supply three batteries of the BrahMos missile and will soon start the delivery of the missiles to the Southeast Asian country.