§ 8. Mr. Michael Jack (Fylde)What his policy is on arms sales to India. [120877]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Peter Hain)India is set to be a 21st century super-power, and British-Indian relations, including commercial and defence links, are very strong. All export licence applications to India are considered on a case-by-case basis against the European Union code of conduct and strict United Kingdom national criteria.
§ Mr. JackI thank the Minister for that positive reply. Will he comment on recent, and what appear to be authoritative, press reports that indicate that BAE Systems has at long last secured a contract with the Indian Government for the supply of 60 Hawk aircraft? If such a contract were to be agreed between the company and the Government, would the United Kingdom see such an arrangement as compatible with an ethical foreign policy?
§ Mr. HainIndeed it would be compatible, because those Hawk jets are for training purposes, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. I commend him for his interest and support in this matter; I think that he has British Aerospace workers, interests at heart.
I raised the matter when I visited India in November. The same matter was raised, and the Indian Government were pressed on it, by my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office during his recent visit. We want to ensure that this £1 billion deal is successful. I cannot confirm the reports to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but I hope that the contract will be successful.
§ Mr. Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Hall Green)I welcome my hon. Friend's statement. Does he agree that it would be entirely inappropriate for any military hardware from the United Kingdom to be used by the Indian authorities in Kashmir? Do the Government still expect the Indian authorities to develop a policy on Kashmir that takes full account of the wishes and needs of the Kashmiri people?
§ Mr. HainDespite our close friendship and partnership with India, we pay particular—and more than usual—attention to export licence applications for arms for India. We want to ensure that any arms that we sell for legitimate purposes are not used for illegitimate purposes in Kashmir. We have constantly pressed both the Indian and Pakistani Governments to resume the Lahore process and the dialogue there to achieve peace in Kashmir and so end a terrible conflict.
§ Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset)I am sure that the House is grateful to the Minister for supporting the arms industry within the United Kingdom. However, will he consider an urgent case in my constituency? Thorn is trying to sell cable to the oceanographic department in India, which will be used to look for oil. It was told originally that it probably did not need an export licence. However, having pressed the Government after months of delay, the project has now been turned down.
142 The cable can be used for detecting submarines, but that has nothing to do with Kashmir. In fact, it will be used for a peaceful purpose. Will the Minister examine this urgent case and ensure that jobs for peaceful purposes while using defence technology, which surely is what we all want to do, go ahead and are not turned down by the Government?
§ Mr. HainI will certainly look into the case, if I can, and I will respond to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible. I realise that submarines have nothing to do with Kashmir, even under a Conservative interpretation. However, there is always a problem with technology that has dual uses. Technology that appears to be for legitimate civilian uses, as seems to be the case with the example that the hon. Gentleman quoted, can also be used for illicit military purposes. That is why we examine each case very carefully.