MADRAS- Trail of Tenkasi

or missiles and we do not have the foreign exchange to shop elsewhere. Our two-year quest for a submarine for the navy is a case in point. Further, thanks to the arms deals with the Soviet Union a trend towards uniformity and standardisation of defence material, especially in the Air Force, is emerging. So instead of complaining about having put all our eggs in the Soviet basket, we should make the best of the links we have established with the Soviet Union and try to maintain a qualitative edge over Pakistan. Any response to the Soviet arms sales to Pakistan based on assumptions which were relevant in the context of the Cold War would today be totally inappropriate. Even if we took the absurd extreme step of breaking off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the US is not going to reward us by showering arms on us. So what is necessary is to avoid isolating ourselves from our friends while waiting for an opportunity to settle with Pakistan and China without detriment to our national interest. If the Soviet decision induces among some of us a realisation of the need for improving relations with Pakistan and China it will be a blessing in disguise.