VOA慢速英语2015 印度似乎已转型为武器供应商而不是买家

AS IT IS 2015-04-24 India Looks to Become Arms Supplier Instead of Buyer 印度似乎已转型为武器供应商而不是买家

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently pointed¹ out that India imports nearly 60 percent of its defense² needs. In fact, a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute – SIPRI – finds that India was the world’s biggest arms importer in the last five years.

Mr. Modi wants to change that. He is urging a “Made in India” policy that extends to the country’s defense needs. He has even said the country should try to export weapons.

Foreign manufacturers

The United States is already partnering with India to produce weapons with Indian companies. For example, the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin company joined with India’s Tata Advanced Systems to produce parts for the C-130J Super Hercules plane.

Rahul Madhavan is the director for aerospace³ and defense with the U.S.-India Business Council. He says the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative is a sign of change. That program calls for U.S. and Indian defense firms to produce weapons together rather than continue the buyer-seller relationship.

Mr. Madhavan said the program is a sign of the power the U.S. sees in the Indian market.

“You can look at India as an export market for the world… 'Make with India,'” not just “Make in India,” he says.

Similarly, Sweden's Saab is trying to sell their light, single-engine Gripen planes to India’s air force. Saab is proposing to produce the Gripen in India with a local partner.

China’s growing arms exports

The push to develop India’s defense industry comes as China’s defense exports are growing.

Currently, the U.S. remains⁴ the largest weapons exporter; however, the SIPRI report says China was the third largest weapons exporter between 2010 and 2014. And, the report says, China’s weapons exports are growing quickly. The weapons are heading to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and many African countries.

Weapons exports are more than just trade deals. Jon Grevatt of the defense intelligence group IHS Jane’s says China’s growth in exports has also increased its strategic influence, or power.

Mr. Grevatt says many of China’s customers are “economically challenged” countries and must rely on China until they pay for the cost of the weapons.

A more powerful China is a concern for India and the U.S., says Lisa Curtis, a senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Ms. Curtis says the U.S. sees India’s growing defense budget as a way to balance China.

Challenges for India’s defense industry

But many experts are asking whether India’s defense industry can really challenge China’s export business and political weight.

Some foreign policy experts believe that, despite U.S. interest in helping⁵ the Indian defense industry grow, a weak Indian defense industry makes this unlikely. After all, India has been trying to develop its defense industry since the 1950s – well before China.

One reason India’s defense industry is slow to grow is restrictive policies. A law limits the level of foreign ownership in a defense partnership⁶ to 49 percent. In other words, a U.S. defense firm would not have a majority share in the company.

Mr. Madhavan of the U.S.-India Business Council says U.S. companies will want to have control of the intellectual property. “Billions of dollars of taxpayer⁷ money is invested into research and engineering,” he says.

Most industry experts do not think India will be a major player in global weapons exports soon. In fact, Jon Grevatt of IHS Jane’s says India’s weapons export business will struggle in the global market for many years to come.

Words in This Story

initiative - n. a plan or program that is intended to solve a problem

intelligence - n. secret information that a government collects about an enemy or possible enemy

restrictive - adj. limiting or controlling someone or something

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。