Turkey’s Rise in Arms Sales: Defense Deals or Geopolitical Ambitions?
Turkey is emerging as a significant arms-dealing country on the global stage. In 2007, Turkey was in the 20th position in the world in terms of arms sales. By 2016, it had reached number 13, bypassing seven countries. Currently, Turkey is at number 11 in terms of weapon dealings worldwide.
Turkey has many weapons, including the Bayraktar TB2 drone, S137 submarine, KAAN fighter plane, T129 ATAK helicopter, and ANKA drone. All these Turkey-made weapons have been sold in countries around India. What does the deployment of these dangerous weapons on the Indian threshold mean? Is this simply defense deal, or is there some imperialistic dream that Turkey is trying to fulfill?
On a geopolitical level, these defense deals of Turkey are being considered halal. Now, what’s the Theory of halal Weapons? Halal is an Arabic word that means legitimate or lawful. This word is used for permissible things according to Islamic law. The word is mostly used in the case of meat, such as Halal Meat. But the term has now entered the Turkish weapon deals; Turkey’s defense deals are being named Halal weapons to give them legitimacy on a global level.
The Ottoman Dream:
After assuming power, Erdogan has intensified his dream to Islamize Turkey. He aims to revive the past legacy of the Ottoman Empire with the help of religious rhetoric. To become the leader of the Muslim world, Erdogan sells the dream of the Ottoman Empire. He seeks to become caliph and, for that reason, is trying to influence countries with the maximum Muslim population. Increasing deals of Halal weapons with African countries like Morocco, Djibouti, Somalia, and Rwanda, as well as with countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Indonesia, and Malaysia, show Turkey’s tactics to emerge as a rising power in the international space, outside the umbrella of the West.
IMEEC Deal:
Turkey even counters the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor Plan agreed upon at the recent G20 Summit. IMEEC, backed by the US and EU, is seen as an attempt to repel China’s growing influence, which could completely bypass Turkey.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement after the G20 Summit: “There can be no corridor without Turkey; the most appropriate route for trade from East to West must pass through Turkey.” Such statements show how influential Turkey wants to be among Islamic countries.
“The world is a casino, and bets are in Asian nations today.” It’s the 21st century; it’s the Asian century, as ASEAN is in the center, a growing hub with growing consumption and economic growth. IMEC is going to bring profits to the countries it passes through. That’s why Turkey is in intensive negotiations over its alternative to this trade route.
Turkey’s strategies to counter India:
Turkey’s growing influence in the surrounding regions of India threatens India’s strategic relations with various Muslim countries.
The Maldives, India’s neighboring island country, has become a major destination for Halal weapons. The Muizzu government in the Maldives is also a reason behind anti-India activities in the Maldives. Recently, the Maldives removed India’s Defence Personnel who were there for humanitarian aid. On the contrary, the Maldives invited a Chinese spy ship to dock at its port and welcomed a patrol of the Turkish aircraft carrier TCG Kinaliada. Turkey sold six Bayraktar drones to the Maldives. The “India Out” campaign gained momentum in the Maldives, negatively impacting relations between the Maldives and India.
Pakistan purchased advanced F-16 aircraft from Turkey in 2014. In 2018, Turkey signed a deal to sell 30 T-129 ATAK helicopters to Pakistan. In 2020, Imran Khan tried to form a third Muslim group under the leadership of Turkey, separate from Saudi Arabia and Iran. In 2021 and 2022, Pak also purchased three Bayraktar drones from Turkey. In 2023, Pak purchased S137 PNS KHALID submarines from Turkey. Then, Turkey’s tilt towards Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistan Kashmir dispute — all these factors show a soft corner that Turkey has for Pakistan.
Bangladesh is fourth in the purchase and sale of arms from Turkey. In just the first four months of 2021, Bangladesh purchased arms worth $60 million from Turkey. Some important deals — including drones, short-range missiles, rocket defense systems, and petrol boat technology — were signed between Bangladesh and Turkey. 3000 Bangladeshi military officers were given training in Turkey. Bangladesh’s growing friendship with Turkey and its continuous increase in defense budget are a concern for India, as Bangladesh shares 95% of its border areas with India.
Malaysia chose the Turkish Aerospace Industry for three unmanned aircraft. It also signed ANKA drone deal with Turkey. Talks are ongoing on the KAAN fighter plane deal between Turkey and Malaysia. Apart from all this, it is also important to realize that India’s most-wanted Zakir Naik has been given shelter there.
Indonesia is a vital country for India, as India accesses its Salang Port. Then, the strategic location — the Strait of Malacca — is the choke point to counter China. This country has also increased its defense deals with Turkey. Last year, Indonesia purchased 12 ANKA drones from Turkey. Recently, Turkey supplied 10 units of tanks to the Indonesian Army.
Why is the situation tense for India?
If we carefully observe the map, Pakistan is located west of India, Bangladesh in the east, and the Maldives at the southernmost tip of the Indian Ocean. East African countries are on the western trade route, whereas the eastern trade route is Malacca, which falls between Malaysia and Indonesia. And in all these countries, a surge in Turkey’s halal weapons has been seen in the past few years.
The cause of concern is that Turkey is trying to counter India by surrounding Indian territory by deploying dangerous weapons, especially in a situation where the anti-India voice of the Turkish government has been heard on various international platforms on issues ranging from Kashmir to 370. Turkey’s tilt toward Pakistan remains a core source of friction too.
Turkey has been a hub of anti-India activities. It provided employment to Kashmiri journalists, provided scholarships to Indian Muslims, and a Turkish NGO is said to have ties with the Popular Front of India (PFI), which has been accused of influencing Indian Muslims.
In 2021, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan accepted the Baku Declaration. The goal of this declaration was to strengthen ties and increase cooperation between the three countries. Following this initiative, Turkey and Pakistan showed support for Azerbaijan in the Ngorno-Karabakh conflict and refused to acknowledge Armenia as a sovereign country.
India-Turkey Relations:
India and Turkey have historical ties with each other. The two most important factors between these two countries are language and culture. The diplomatic relations between these countries were established in 1948. Previously, the two leaders met at various summits, like the G20 and the BRICs Pus meeting. In 2021–22, the bilateral trade between these two countries exceeded US$10 billion. Recently, in 2022, PM Modi met President Erdogan on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Samarkand. Both leaders agreed to enhance bilateral trade to US$20 billion.
The two countries have shared cultural links. Cultural cooperation is carried out through a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP). Various cultural performances, film shows, exhibitions, seminars, and outreach to universities are being organized from time to time. A Festival of India in Turkey, India by the Bosphorus, was held in March–April 2019 showcasing Indian dance, music, food, and fashion in major cities in Turkey. In July 2022, the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) sponsored a Gujarati folk dance group ‘Saptak’, which visited Bursa (Turkey) in the 34th International Golden Karagoz Folk Competition.
In 2023, Operation Dost was launched to provide urgent relief to Turkey due to devastating earthquakes in the country’s southern provinces. Support in terms of search and rescue (SAR) efforts as well as medical assistance was extended. Operation Dost was among the earliest foreign aid operations to arrive in Turkey.
India’s Response:
India uses both Soft and Hard Diplomacy to counter the activities of Turkey on the global stage. India was one of the first countries to respond to the series of earthquakes that occurred in Turkey in 2023. Through this stance, India seeks to reverse ties with the Islamic nation. However, since soft diplomacy is no guarantee of the normalization of relations, India also pursues hard diplomacy to deter Turkey.
India signed defense deals with Cyprus, Greece, and Armenia to deepen defense and security ties. Greece developed a multipurpose Archytas drone in reaction to Turkey’s Bayraktar. India asked Greece to provide the technology of Archytas drones to counter Pakistan as Turkey armed Pakistan with three Bayraktar drones. India’s marketing of BrahMos missiles to Greece also shows deepened defense ties.
In 2022, India ramped up its support for Armenia on the Ngorno-Karabakh issue. It supplied arms and ammunition to Armenia worth $250 million. India has also signed a deal with Armenia to supply Akash air defense missiles to the country. Armenia and Greece have both expressed their support for India regarding Kashmir.
Thus, whenever Turks rake up the issue of proximity to Pakistan and statements on Kashmir, India tries to balance them by raking up its depth with Cyprus, Greece, and Armenia.
