NEW DELHI: India and the US said on Monday they would sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) that sets the stage for a successful round of 2 + 2 talks between the Defense and Foreign ministers of the two countries on Tuesday. The pact represents a deepening of military security ties between India and the United States, a testament to the rapid warming of ties in the short span of two decades.
The pact is expected to give India access to crucial information that will have implications for any potential military conflict, analysts say. These include monitoring hostile movements and accurate, real-time information on enemy positions during any potential border conflict, said former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal. Amid the tensions between India and China along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) border, the implications of BECA are not expected to be lost in Beijing, which has long been suspicious of the growing closeness between New Delhi and China. Washington.
Tuesday’s 2 + 2 talks are seen as the last major engagement on Washington’s diplomatic calendar before the United States goes to the polls on November 3. Before the talks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in New Delhi on Monday. Immediately after their separate arrivals, Esper and Pompeo engaged in bilateral talks with their counterparts: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Later, the two Indian ministers also invited their counterparts to dinner, said a person familiar with the two programs.
“This is the third 2 + 2 meeting to be held regularly since 2018. The fact that it is held in person and just a week before the US elections shows that both countries value the talks. It also shows bipartisan support for India-US relations and the convergence of the political, diplomatic and security dimensions of cooperation, “said former Indian Ambassador to the United States Arun Singh.” Historically, the relationship between India and the United States has been affected by global trends. In this case, the rise of China is giving the relationship the necessary tailwind. This has gained further momentum with China’s aggressive stance in the South China Sea, against Taiwan, along LAC and the East China Sea in addition to its Wolf Warrior diplomacy, “he added.
A statement from the Indian Defense Ministry said that Singh and Esper “reviewed bilateral defense cooperation covering military-to-military cooperation, secure communication systems and information exchange, defense trade and industrial affairs and also they discussed ways to carry out bilateral cooperation. ” “Close commitments between the respective Armed Forces” also explored “potential new areas of cooperation,” he said.
“The two ministers expressed their satisfaction that the BECA agreement will be signed during the visit. The US Secretary of Defense welcomed Australia’s participation in the Malabar 2020 exercise, “he said. The second was a reference to Australia joining naval exercises that so far included the United States, India and Japan. It adds a naval dimension to the “Quad” – made up of India, Japan, the United States and Australia, a group that China deeply suspects.
Pompeo and Esper are expected to visit the National War Memorial on Tuesday before heading to Hyderabad House for “2 + 2” discussions. After the 2 + 2 talks, Pompeo and Esper will call Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Although India has been cautious about the issues on the table, India’s border tensions with China are expected to figure in the talks. Speaking to reporters last week, Pompeo had said:
“I am also confident that my meetings will also include discussions on how free nations can work together to thwart the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
New Delhi is Pompeo’s first stop, as he will travel to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia in an attempt to forge a broad front against an increasingly assertive China, which has made political and military advances in Asia. In Sri Lanka and the Maldives, China has financed and built various infrastructures. In Indonesia, Pompeo is expected to discuss growing Chinese activities in the disputed South China Sea.
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