The Turkish Challenge for New Delhi
After underlining that achieving a “just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan” would pave the way for regional peace, stability, and prosperity in South Asia in his UNGA address in 2023, Erdogan decided to eschew this in his 2024 address, partly because he was trying to get Turkey into the BRICS grouping then.
But more serious for Indian security interests has been the burgeoning defence ties between Turkey and Pakistan. The two nations signed of the ‘Deepening, Diversifying, and Institutionalizing the Strategic Partnership’ declaration in February 2025 which posits building a security partnership between the two nations. Marked by collaborative military projects, joint exercises, and strategic dialogues, Turkey and Pakistan have significantly strengthened their defence ties in recent years.
Turkey is now Pakistan’s second-largest arms supplier after China since the signing of joint arms production pact in 2021 with reports suggesting around 10 per cent of Turkey’s total arms exports between 2020 and 2024 going to Pakistan. From MILGEM-class stealth corvettes and F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Bayraktar TB2 armed UAVs and Kemankes cruise missiles, the list of Turkish defence supplies to Pakistan has continued to grow. As India was calibrating its response against Pakistan after the Pahalgam massacre, Turkish C-130 Hercules transport planes carrying military cargo reportedly landed in Pakistan which was followed by the docking of Turkish naval vessel in Karachi.
