NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday asked the Netherlands to not provide arms, weapon systems, platforms and military technologies to Pakistan, which has sponsored cross-border terrorism for decades, in a meeting between defence minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart Ruben Brekelmans.
In the delegation-level meet, the two countries decided to elevate their bilateral ties in areas including defence, security, information exchanges, maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and new and emerging technologies like AI and drones.
The clear takeaway, however, was Singh telling Brekelmans that “equipping” Pakistan with defence equipment and technologies “undermines regional security and stability” in South Asia, sources told TOI.
“Singh said India has been fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in J&K and elsewhere for decades. India tells all friendly countries that they should not arm Pakistan in any way due to its state policy of fueling terrorism in other countries,” a source added.
The Netherlands, for instance, has supplied two Alkmaar-class mine counter-measures vessels or mine-hunters, which were built at the Van der Giessen-de Noord shipyard in Alblasserdam. Similarly, the country is also providing 1,900-tonne multi-role offshore patrol vessels from the Damen Shipyards to Pakistan. “Several Dutch companies are interacting with Pakistan in the military arena, especially in the naval domain,” another source said.
In the India-Netherlands meet on Tuesday, the two sides also explored the possibilities of collaboration in shipbuilding, equipment and space sectors, “optimising the complementariness in skills, technology and scale of the two countries”.
“They also discussed working together in domains like AI and related technologies, besides connecting the defence technology research institutes and organizations of the two countries,” a defence ministry official said. India also said Dutch armament companies should be encouraged to integrate Indian vendors into their supply chains.
