Rajnath asks Netherlands not to supply weapons to terror-sponsor Pakistan

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, India and the Netherlands decided to elevate their bilateral ties in areas like 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 Berkelmans 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 countermeasures 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.
India has upped the ante against terrorism and Sikh separatism in recent diplomatic meetings, with PM Modi on Monday seeking continuing cooperation from his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon to rein in pro-Khalistani separatists in his country.
Parallelly, Singh also told US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that the Trump administration should designate Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), which is banned in India for promoting secessionist and pro-Khalistani activities, as a foreign terrorist organization, as was reported by TOI.
In the India-Netherlands meet on Tuesday, the two sides also explored the possibilities of collaboration in shipbuilding, equipment and space sectors, “optimizing 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.
With India developing a “vibrant innovation and industrial ecosystem”, New Delhi also said Dutch armament companies should be encouraged to integrate Indian vendors into their supply chains.
Singh said he was “delighted to meet the young and dynamic defence minister of the Netherlands, and the two reviewed the full range of bilateral defence cooperation. “We look forward to further deepening and elevating our defence partnership,” he said.