Expanding Defence Capabilities in Visegrad Countries: Perspective from India

Analysis

By Angana Guha Roy 

National  Security is the cornerstone of sovereignty.  Amidst war, rising tensions, and insecurity, there is a rising trend in military spending across the world. In 2024, the world's military expenditure was $2.46 trillion, a 7.4% increase from 2023. This was a record high and the ninth consecutive year of growth.  Indian military expenditures reached $83.6 billion in 2023, making it the fourth-largest global spender, according to SIPRI. India was the world's top arms importer for the period 2019-23 with imports having gone up by 4.7% compared to the period 2014-18. After Russia, France is the largest source of India’s defence imports in continental  Europe.

According to SIPRI, India has been diversifying its military partnerships. India is now shifting its focus towards the West, with the US and France as key partners. However, to explore untapped potential for collaboration with other European countries and their respective private sectors, broader dialogue and discussion is required. EU and India held their second consultations on security and defence in  May 2024 wherein both sides agreed to deepen engagement in existing areas of bilateral cooperation, such as cyber, maritime security and crisis management, including by making full use of the possibilities offered by the EU project Enhancing Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA). They also agreed on the need to explore new areas of cooperation, including space security.

The Visegrad countries who are resolutely strengthening their domestic defence industry, eye stronger defence ties with India.  Infact, India and the Czech Republic agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership on Innovation in January  2024. The partnership aims to focus on key areas such as artificial intelligence, electromobility,  and semiconductor technology, critical for advancing high tech industries. Further, the Czech Republic is keen to collaborate with India on defense modernization, offering spare parts, technology, and expertise to bolster military ties.  

The focus on increasing defence budget among the Visegrad countries was a follow-up effect of the ramifications of the Ukraine war and their respective drive for self-reliance. The high-intensity conflict in  Ukraine exposed the weakness in the European Defence Technological and Industrial  Basis (EDITB) pushing European governments to rebuild their countries' defences. The war changed the longstanding procurement policies, production and technological trends that had shaped Europe’s approach to defence hardware. 

Indeed, in 2023 the EU Council decided to introduce a “three track approach” to complement the European Defence Industrial Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) to boost ammunition production and immediately raise the level of support for Ukraine. 

Poland, which spends 4.2%  of its GDP on defence (as per the 2024 allocated budget) is in the spotlight as an emerging actor on European defence. Between 2022 and 2023, its defence budget grew in real terms by 46 per cent.

Warsaw has expressed willingness to strengthen defence cooperation with India. Warsaw seeks to benefit from New Delhi’s drive to modernize its Armed Forces and diversify from Russian arms suppliers. 

According to the  Action Plan  (2024-2028) for the implementation of the India-Poland Strategic Partnership adopted in August 2024, the two sides committed to hold regular consultations on security and defence cooperation to promote contact between defence industries, modernise military equipment, and address outstanding issues. 

Poland's fellow Visegrad member country  Hungary too has been investing heavily in military modernisation to enhance its national defensive capabilities and contribute to NATO collective defence. It has voiced the need to  reshape supply chains between East and West in the  wake of the Ukraine conflict.  The Eastern Opening  Policy to diversify Hungary’s trade and investment relations further constitutes an important pillar to build multidimensional ties beyond its traditional partners.

The National Military  Strategy of Hungary puts emphasis on the non-military dimensions of security, underlining the threats of non-conventional warfare through disruptive technologies,  cybersecurity, and disinformation by proxy forces to exert influence.

Hungary’s close neighbour Slovakia adopted the current Defence Strategy in 2021.  The document, while referring to the Slovak  Republic’s assessment of the security environment, does not make any broad reference to Asia.

Pertaining to the potentials of the  Slovak defence industry, a report by Adapt Institute has pointed out the bottlenecks like overregulation, obsolete legislative framework, and a moribund culture that has slowed down growth in the Slovak defence industry. Many Slovak enterprises complain about notoriously overcomplicated approval and certification processes or public procurements whose slow pace takes ages to complete. Many Slovak enterprises consider the state’s support of their foreign export, production, research, and development endeavours through facilitating contract negotiations with foreign partners to be still relatively small and insufficient.

Czech Republic’s elaborate defence  and security strategy documents have attracted attention from a wide ranging countries across the continents. India and Czechia agreed to upgrade bilateral strategic partnership based on  Innovation. Following the endorsement of Joint Declaration on the Czech-Indian strategic partnership in innovation in  January  2024, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said,  “It is a declaration that creates a framework for cooperation between public institutions, schools and research companies in the Czech Republic and India, and covers a number of areas - medicine, artificial intelligence, cybernetics and others. The adoption of this declaration takes our relations to a higher level.”

India’s strategic upgrade with Czechia can be attributed to the Czech Republic’s aim to broaden defence-related linkages with the Asia Pacific region, leveraging shared utilization of innovation and technical know-how as partners. Prague has on record reiterated its commitment to build deeper engagement within the Indo-Pacific region based on an open, free, inclusive and rules-based approach with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In the wake of the Ukraine war  the defence policy published by Prague  in October 2023 emphasizes Czechia’s focus on preparing for a “long lasting, high intensity defensive war against a technologically advanced adversary equipped with nuclear weapons”. Purposefully, the current defence strategy indicates its willingness to build deeper ties with partners beyond continental Europe, marking a departure from its conventional trajectory of defence ties in the past three decades, which were characterised by prioritisation of counterinsurgency, stabilisation efforts, and post-conflict reconstruction.

The Security Strategy of the Czech Republic published in 2023 puts emphasis on building political, economic, and security relations with democratic Asian and Oceanian partners to prepare Czechia for a potential strategic shock in the event of a conflict in the Asia Pacific Region.

The Joint Statement on India -  Czechia Strategic Partnership signed in January 2024 recognizes the geopolitical importance of the Indo-Pacific region. It mentions Czechia’s commitment to build deeper engagements with India in the Indo-Pacific strategic theater. The statement highlighted the partnership to be  “based on an open, free inclusive and rules-based approach with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and recognizing the promotion of effective rules-based multilateralism as a way to achieve global prosperity and commitments of the UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals”.

The joint statement further emphasized expanding cooperation in research and technology by promoting mutual exchanges and sharing of ideas and best practices.

The credible long-standing bilateral ties have drawn both countries closer in upgrading strategic ties. Popular  Chezia brands like Bata, Tatra, Skoda, Pilsner, Avast, PBS, Budweiser have a good reputation in India. 

While India’s military is on a trajectory of reform and modernization to adjust to shifting geopolitical realities, it is looking for new partners abroad. India’s concerted effort in building its defence industry is aimed at self-reliance and promotes  India as a global leader in defence manufacturing. The momentum is apt for India and Visegrad countries to explore each other’s potential and feasibility. 

Disclaimer: This paper is the author's individual scholastic contribution and does not necessarily reflect the organization's viewpoint.