October 28, 2020 12:10:18 pm
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New Delhi (PTI)
India and the United States signed on Tuesday (October 27) the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), that, together with the two previously signed agreements, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), complete a troika of “founding agreements” for deep military cooperation between the two countries.
What is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)?
BECA will help India gain real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will improve the accuracy of automated systems and weapons such as missiles and armed drones. By exchanging information on maps and satellite images, it will help India access topographic and aeronautical data, and advanced products that will aid in navigation and orientation.
This could be key to the cooperation between the Air Force and the Air Force between India and the United States. Just as your radio booth (or the GPS on your smartphone) helps you focus on the way to your destination and helps you get there quickly and efficiently, BECA will provide Indian military systems with high-quality GPS. to navigate missiles with real-time intelligence to accurately target the adversary.
In addition to navigating ships, flying aircraft, fighting wars, and locating targets, geospatial intelligence is also critical to responding to natural disasters.
The signing of BECA stems from the commitment in the joint statement during President Donald Trump’s visit in February this year, when the two sides said they expected an “early conclusion” from BECA.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (R), United States. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd L) and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper (L) during a press release, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi (PTI)
And what is the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) about?
LEMOA was the first of the three pacts to be signed in August 2016. LEMOA enables the US and Indian armies to replenish from each other’s bases and access supplies, parts, and services from each other’s ground facilities, air bases, and ports, which can then be reimbursed.
LEMOA is extremely useful for the cooperation between the United States Navy and India, as the two countries cooperate closely in the Indo-Pacific. To put the usefulness of this deal in simple terms, it’s like being able to stop at a friend’s garage or workshop to refuel or repair your car when you are away from your own home or workshop.
The critical element that sustains LEMOA is mutual trust. Without trust, no country will be willing to expose its military and strategic assets, such as warships, to the facilities of another country.
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The signing of LEMOA was itself an affirmation of mutual trust between the two armies, and its application will increase trust. The LEMOA took almost a decade to negotiate, and in a sense the exercise overcame the confidence deficit between India and the United States, and paved the way for the other two fundamental pacts.
While India had provided ad hoc logistical support to the US in the past, such as allowing the refueling of American aircraft in Mumbai during the first Gulf War in 1991, and allowing American warships to visit ports. Indians during the war on terror after 9/11. – The LEMOA firm has institutionalized this process and made it more fluid.
Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then US Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a joint press conference following the India-US 2 + 2 Dialogue. In New Delhi in 2018 (archive)
What about the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)?
COMCASA was signed in September 2018, after the first 2 + 2 dialogue during which the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, and the then Minister of Defense, Nirmala Sitharaman, met with visiting Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and then-Secretary of Defense James N Mattis.
The pact allows the United States to provide India with its encrypted communications equipment and systems so that the Indian and American military commanders, and the planes and ships of the two countries, can communicate over secure networks during times of peace and war. . Again, to give a simple example, it is like being able to exchange messages or communicate with a friend on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram in real time and safely.
The COMCASA signing paved the way for the transfer of communications security equipment from the United States to India to facilitate “interoperability” between its forces and potentially with other armies using US-sourced systems for secure data links.
What is the specific context of these pacts and their practical benefit for India?
The strengthening of cooperation mechanisms between the two armies should be seen in the context of an increasingly aggressive China, which threatens a large number of neighboring countries and beyond, and which has challenged various norms and established aspects of international relations. .
Amid the current clash on the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the longest and most serious in three decades, India and the US stepped up intelligence and military cooperation under the radar to an unprecedented level, especially since June.
Pompeo called Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in the third week of June, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has contacted the US NSA Robert C O’Brien, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of The US, Gen. Mark A Milley, has been in contact with the Chief of Defense Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat. US Defense Secretary Mark T Esper called Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in the second week of July.
These conversations facilitated the exchange of information between the security, military and intelligence agencies of the two countries, including the exchange of high-end satellite images, wiretaps, and data on the deployment of Chinese troops and weapons throughout LAC.
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Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, center, gestures to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, right, standing beside him, before their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi (AP)
On Tuesday, Pompeo directly attacked China and reiterated the US commitment to “support the people of India in confronting threats to their sovereignty and freedom.”
“… I am pleased to say that the United States and India are taking steps to strengthen cooperation against all kinds of threats and not just those posed by the Communist Party of China,” Pompeo said. “We went (to the war memorial in New Delhi) … to honor the brave men and women of the Indian armed forces who have sacrificed for the world’s largest democracy, including 20 who were killed by PLA forces. in the Galwan Valley in June “.
Esper said: “The defense ties between our two nations continue to be a key pillar of our overall bilateral relationship. Based on our common values and interests, we stand shoulder to shoulder in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific for all, particularly in light of China’s increasing aggression and destabilizing activities. “
Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar, who were present with Pompeo and Esper, did not mention China, but spoke about “respecting” and “defending” the “territorial integrity and sovereignty” of all states, an obvious reference to Beijing’s belligerence over the past. length of LAC.
And what is the big picture of the signing of these fundamental pacts with the United States and the way forward?
As mentioned above, it marks, above all, the improvement of mutual trust and commitment to the long-term strategic relationship. With these key defense pacts in place, cooperation between the US and India can take place in a more structured and efficient way, rather than episodic outbursts.
While LEMOA means that one partner trusts the other enough to expose their valuable assets, COMCASA means that one trusts that they can rely on encrypted systems to connect the two armies. And the latest pact, BECA, means countries can share highly classified information in real time without fear of compromise.
The United States wants India to move away from Russian equipment and platforms, as it believes this may expose its technology and information to Moscow. So far, India is pushing ahead with the purchase of the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia, and this has been a sticking point for American interlocutors.
For its part, India is suspicious of Pakistan’s deep-seated ties to the Pentagon and of Washington’s reliance on Rawalpindi for access to Afghanistan and its exit strategy.
But, because of China’s clear and present danger, New Delhi’s strategic adoption of Washington is the obvious result. The Indian defense establishment has already used at least five American platforms in LAC: the C-17 Globemaster III for military transport, Boeing’s Chinook CH-47 as heavy lift helicopters, the Boeing Apache as a tank killer, the P-8I Poseidon for ground reconnaissance. and the Lockheed Martin C-130J for the airlift of troops.
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