US Considers Imposing Sanctions on India

The S-400 missile system comes from Russia (Flickr).

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin suggested that the United States would place sanctions on India for purchasing a Russian S-400 missile system, continuing a Trump-era push to discourage U.S. allies from acquiring Russian military hardware. Austin’s remarks come just weeks after a much-anticipated multilateral meeting between the leaders of the Quad, during which the U.S. sought to rally countries like India to counter growing Chinese influence.  

When asked about India’s planned purchase of the system, Austin urged “all our allies and partners to move away from Russian equipment… and really avoid any kind of acquisitions that would trigger sanctions on our behalf.” Austin also noted that India had not received the S-400 yet, and he indicated that accepting the weapon would formally trigger sanctions.

The S-400 triumf is a highly advanced anti-aircraft missile system meant to be the centerpiece of an air-defense network. Russia developed the state-of-the-art radar systems in order to detect and counter American F-35 stealth fighters. U.S. officials warned that India’s acquisition of the S-400 would allow Russia to collect intelligence on the F-35’s capabilities, impeding the military partnership between the two states at a time when both seek to cooperate against a rising China. 

Congress passed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in 2017, requiring the president to sanction countries that purchase weapons from Russia. In December, the Trump administration invoked CAATSA to levy sanctions against Turkey, a key NATO ally, for purchasing the S-400. The U.S. also expelled Turkey from the F-35 fighter program. 

Traditionally, Russia has been a major supplier of weapons to India, and New Delhi stressed to Austin that India has a diversified weapon portfolio and needs the S-400 to defend against Chinese threats. The two countries fought over their disputed border last year, and tensions remain high. Although CAATSA allows for the secretary of state to issue a waiver for certain purchases, U.S. officials told India in January that it would likely not do so. 

The Biden administration also faces pressure from Congress to oppose the S-400 deal. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) wrote to Austin ahead of his trip, saying that the U.S. could sanction India for the purchase, thereby limiting “India’s ability to work with the U.S. on development and procurement of sensitive military technology.”

Austin’s visit to India made up part of a larger push by the Biden administration to shore up Chinese opposition to China, especially after the hostile rhetoric of last week’s U.S.-China bilateral meeting. India is also a member of the Quad, a security dialogue that also includes the U.S., Japan, and Australia. The Quad is part of Biden’s strategy to solidify a partnership of democracies and pose as a counterweight to China in the Pacific, and the March 12 summit marked the first time that the leaders of all four countries convened. They discussed how to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open, secure, and prosperous, while committing to work together so as to achieve stability. 

Though Austin conceded that the U.S. does work with countries that operate Russian equipment “from time to time,” India’s acceptance of the S-400 missile system would nevertheless put U.S. officials in a difficult position given their focus on countering China. Moscow expects that the first S-400 will arrive in India by the end of 2021.