India is poised to sign a military agreement with the United States for the exchange of sensitive satellite data as the two sides began a high-level security dialogue aimed at countering China’s growing power in the region.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper flew to New Delhi on Monday for talks with Indian leaders at a time when India is locked in its most serious military showdown with China in decades. on the disputed Himalayan border.
Washington, for its part, has also increased diplomatic pressure on China, as ties worsen on a variety of issues, from Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus to the imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong and ambitions. in the South China Sea.
‘New opportunity for two great democracies’
The United States and India must work together to confront the threat China poses to security and freedom, Pompeo said Tuesday as he prepared for talks with Indian leaders.
“Today is a new opportunity for two great democracies like ours to come closer together,” Pompeo said before talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
“There is sure to be a lot more work to do. We have much to discuss today: our cooperation in the pandemic that originated in Wuhan, to confront the Chinese Communist Party’s threats to security and freedom to promote peace and stability throughout the region. “
Pompeo and Esper lay wreaths at the National War Memorial in New Delhi [Jewel Samad/Reuters]
Ahead of the formal two-plus-two talks on Tuesday involving senior diplomats and military officials, Esper met with his Indian counterpart Singh to discuss the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) on Geospatial Cooperation that is ready for signature, he said. the Indian Ministry of Defense. .
“The two ministers expressed their satisfaction that the BECA agreement will be signed during the visit,” the ministry said in a statement.
The deal would provide India with access to a variety of topographic, nautical and aeronautical data that is considered vital for launching armed missiles and drones.
It would also allow the United States to provide advanced navigation aids and avionics on US-supplied aircraft to India, an Indian defense source said.
Esper has been pushing for India to buy American F-18 jets and move away from its dependence on Russian weaponry.
US companies have sold more than $ 21 billion worth of weapons to India since 2007, and Washington has been urging the Indian government to sign agreements that allow the sharing of confidential information and encrypted communications for better use of high-end military equipment.
Esper also welcomed Australia’s participation in next month’s naval exercises involving India, the United States and Japan off the Bay of Bengal.
“Our focus now must be on institutionalizing and regularizing our cooperation to meet the challenges of the day and uphold the principles of a free and open Indo-Pacific in the future,” said Esper.
China has previously opposed such multilateral war games, seeing them as aimed against it. India had also long resisted expanding them out of fear that this would irritate Beijing.
But the border tension with China this summer, which erupted in a clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, has hardened public sentiment against Beijing and is driving closer ties with the United States, analysts say.
“Our talks today were fruitful, aimed at further deepening defense cooperation in a wide range of areas,” Singh said in a tweet.
Pompeo met separately with Jaishankar on Monday, who tweeted that relations between emerging allies “have grown substantially across all domains.”
In a statement, the US State Department praised “the strong partnership between the United States and India” and declared it “fundamental to the security and prosperity of both countries, the Indo-Pacific region and the world.”
After India, Pompeo will travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two countries in the Indian Ocean where China has financed and built various infrastructures, which has alarmed India and the US.
US President Donald Trump has made tough on China a key part of his campaign to secure a second term in next week’s presidential election.
.
