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India, Indonesia and Vietnam among Asian US allies caught in crossfire of Russian arms sanctions

Under a law that US President Donald Trump signed in August, any country trading with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors will face sanctions

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in St Petersburg. US sanctions on Russian military exports have put the brakes on a US$6 billion deal with India. Photo: Reuters

US sanctions on Russian military exports have put the brakes on a US$6 billion deal between Moscow and India, and threatens to derail the arms purchases of other US allies around Asia, experts say.

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Under a law that US President Donald Trump signed in August, any country trading with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors will face sanctions.

The law is designed to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, involvement in the Syrian civil war and meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

But American allies who buy weapons and equipment from Russia, the world’s second-largest arms exporter, could suffer as well.

The highest-profile example is India, which wants to buy five S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems that the country’s military sees as a game changer. The systems are touted as being able to counter the ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft that China is developing, while overwhelming the capabilities of Pakistan, India’s other main adversary.

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