A Study On India’s Foreign Military Procurement In The Period Of Modi Administration From The Perspective Of Threat Perception

As for India’s national security,the threat perception determines the requirements for defence,while foreign military procurement determines the strength of defence.With the analysis of the relationship between them,it has certain enlightenment for judging the trend of India’s foreign military procurement and defence strategy.Using the theory of threat perception and taking security threats as main variables,this study analyzes India’s threat perception,foreign military procurement and the relationship between them in the period of Modi administration through the framework "Threat-Threat PerceptionProcurement Policy ".Chapter I shows the threat perception of Indian Cabinet,Ministry of Defence and strategic think tanks.Chapter II shows the factors promote the threat perception from three aspects: strategic culture,false perception and security situation.Chapter III shows the changes of procurement procedure in the period of Modi administration,and analyzes the threat perception that can be known from the changes.Chapter IV shows the influence of threat perception on India’s foreign military procurement.This study draws the following four viewpoints:Firstly,the threat perceptions of Indian Cabinet,Ministry of Defence and strategic think tanks are consistent,which view Pakistan and China as the main "security threats".The Cabinet is affected by the threats and security situation,which creates a sense of urgency to strengthen defence.The Ministry of Defence appeals that India needs to buy more advanced weapons for various security challenges through the threat assessment.Through assessment,the strategic think tanks believe that there is a big gap of strength between India and potential rivals,which is adverse to India’s initiative in regional and national security.Secondly,according to the the forming factors of threat perception,the influence of Indian strategic culture on threat perception is showed in three aspects.First,the geographical feature strengthens India’s sensitivity about maritime threats and neighboring threats.Second,cultural characteristics makes India attach importance to strength in dealing with threats.Third,the political characteristics make the party in power take threat counter-measures and strengthening defence as a way to enhance prestige.The influence of false perception on threat perception is reflected in two aspects.First,over-judged Pakistan’s military threat,and increased procurement investment on the pretext of suppressing Pakistan.Second,advocated "China military threat" and increased procurement investment on the pretext of catching up with China.Changes in the security situation have also increased India’s sensitivity to security threats.Thirdly,the procedure of foreign military procurement is influenced by the threat perception of the Indian Government.The Indian Government would revise procurement procedure to adapt to the threat situation,and provide the Indian army with advanced weapons more efficiently,so as to ensure that the Indian force be able to deal with security threats.The change of procurement procedure in the period of Modi administration reflects India’s purpose and pertinence in dealing with the "threat" of Pakistan and China.Fourthly,the procurement demand of Indian force is influenced by threats,which makes the demand more practical and targeted.India’s procurement orders are affected by the threat coping strategy.Under the influence of coping strategy,India has invested hardly in the procurement of advanced weapons,and acquired a large number of weapons that enhance the strategic deterrence of Indian force,and strengthened cooperation with Western countries to deal with neighboring security threats.Through the four viewpoints,we can understand India’s threat perception in the period of Modi administration and judge the development trend of India’s foreign military procurement,which is of strong practical significance to study India’s national and military situation.