NEW DELHI: India is closing in on a deal with the United States that will give it access to satellite data for better missile and drone accuracy, government and industry officials said, as it tries to bridge the gap with the powerful Chinese military.
The two sides are expected to announce the pact during the US secretary of state’s visit next week. Mike pompeo and secretary of defense Mark Esper for talks in New Delhi with Indian counterparts Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh.
The United States, which took on Beijing this week in approving the possible sale of three weapons systems to Taiwan, has also been pushing to strengthen security ties with India to help balance China’s growing regional influence.
American 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 for the sharing of confidential information and encrypted communications for better use of high-end military equipment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet discussed the final draft of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation on Wednesday, a government source said.
An agreement would provide India with access to a variety of topographic, nautical and aeronautical data, said a source in the defense industry.
It would also enable the United States to provide advanced navigation aids and avionics on aircraft supplied by the United States to India, the defense source said.
“It is a founding agreement, which the United States has signed with many of its partners for greater interoperability,” the source said.
India has traditionally been reluctant to get involved in a US-led security alliance and antagonize China. But tensions have risen dramatically with China this summer, sparking a clash between border troops in eastern Ladakh.
This week, New Delhi agreed to invite Australia to the Malabar naval exercises scheduled for next month with the United States and Japan, ignoring concerns that it would anger China, which believes the group is directed against it.
“Together, the movements signal a new level of strategic convergence between the two democracies and a break with India’s ‘non-aligned’ past,” said Jeff Smith, a South Asian expert at the Heritage Foundation, of the proposed pact.
There is already strong intelligence sharing between the United States and India, particularly on Chinese activity in the region, a second government official said.
This includes information about PLA deployments on the Indian border and also Chinese maritime activity, including its deep-sea fishing fleets, which have caused friction between Beijing and other countries.
“They are sharing a large amount of data,” the official said.
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