US Secretary of State Micheal R. Pompeo concluded on Tuesday the India leg of his four-nation tour to promote an alliance against Chinese aggression that, he stressed, affects not only India but also other countries. Pompeo arrived with Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday for the annual 2 + 2 strategic dialogue between the United States and India.
At the end of their meetings in New Delhi, Pompeo promised in a press conference on Monday that the United States would support the people of India as they face threats to their sovereignty and freedom, a not-so-oblique reference to Indian soldiers. facing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for more than five months in the East Ladakh sector.
Pompeo and Esper also indicated that Chinese actions in Ladakh, the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, and trade wars with Australia were discussed and an assessment on how to counter them was shared.
The two parties also signed a group of five pacts, including BECA, or Basic Agreement for Exchange and Cooperation, to share sensitive satellite and map data. This deal – Esper called it a “significant milestone” – will give India access to topographic, nautical and aeronautical data vital for precise strikes using missiles and armed drones.
BECA clears the way for India by acquiring armed drones in the first instance and at a later date, fighter jets. Esper alluded to the discussions on this issue when he announced that the United States planned to sell more fighter jets and drones to India. He did not elaborate.
India has been looking to buy armed Predator-B long endurance mid-range drones from the US rather than the unarmed drones it had previously planned. An Indian official said that F-16 and F-18 fighters had previously been offered to New Delhi, but India was looking for Boeing’s F-15EX fighters that the aircraft maker is not yet licensed to sell abroad.
“There is a possibility that the F-15EX will be sold from government to government,” a senior government official familiar with the discussions told the Hindustan Times. “Never before have we achieved so much in such a short time,” said a second official, stressing that he had never seen “such a positive attitude” on both sides of the negotiating table.
He also suggested that there was a slow but gradual change in New Delhi’s approach to dealing with China that has been a silent word in Indian diplomacy.
The decision has been made to station an Indian liaison officer at the headquarters of the United States Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The United States would also delegate a liaison officer to the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Center (IFC) that monitors the Indian Ocean region.
A second official said that India’s connection to the US central command and the African command indicates that the two countries have come together on difficult security issues. “It is quite evident from today’s 2 + 2 dialogue that India has fully integrated with other QUAD members from four nations (Australia and Japan are the other two members) to monitor the Indian Pacific region,” he said.
The Australian Navy’s participation in the Malabar exercises in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea later this month will add to the maritime weight of the QUAD, which is expected to perform more complex naval maneuvers.
Esper told reporters that the focus of the two countries 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.”
That, he said, is particularly important “in light of China’s growing aggression and destabilizing actions.”
Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh did not name China, but they left no one in doubt when they spoke about the importance of peace, stability and prosperity for all countries in the region. The Indo-Pacific region was a “particular focus of our talks,” Jaishankar told reporters, making it clear that China’s effort to dominate Asia was not acceptable to India when he stressed that a “multipolar world must have an Asia as base “.
Jaishankar had set the tone right at the beginning of the 2 + 2 strategic dialogue on Tuesday morning when he also lobbied hard for closer cooperation between India and the United States on defense and foreign policy. “The ability of India and the United States to work closely together on defense and foreign policy has a greater resonance. Together, we can make a real difference when it comes to regional and global challenges, whether it’s respecting territorial integrity, promoting maritime domain awareness, fighting terrorism or ensuring prosperity, ”said the minister by emphasizing the importance of upholding a rules-based international order.
It seems that the hesitancy on the part of India to embrace the United States for its national interest has finally disappeared. The die is cast and it does not matter who wins the presidential election.
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