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Image source, fake images
(left to right) US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meet with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Indian Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar.
India and the United States signed a military agreement to share sensitive satellite data amid tensions on the India-China border.
This data is considered essential for hitting rockets, drones and other targets with great precision.
The deal was announced after the annual “2 + 2” meeting that took place in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Experts say that strengthening US-Indian relations is aimed at countering Chinese influence in the region.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh. The Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, also met with the Secretary of State of India, S Jaishankar.
“Over the course of more than two decades, our bilateral relations have steadily developed in substance, size and importance,” Foreign Minister Jaishankar said Tuesday. He added that the negotiations would allow the two countries “to cooperate more strongly on matters of national security.”
The Basic Satellite Sharing and Cooperation Agreement, or BECA, is one of the few agreements the United States has signed with its close partners. It gives India access to a wide range of aviation and satellite data essential for military operations.
The two countries also signed several other agreements in the areas of nuclear energy, earth science, and alternative medicine. But the BECA is the most important agreement.
It enables the United States “to provide the Indian side with state-of-the-art aviation and navigation support data from US-provided aircraft,” an Indian military source told Reutuers news agency. It also means that the United States can install advanced navigation equipment on the planes it supplies to India.
Image source, fake images
India has sent reinforcements to the border with China
The agreement was signed at a time when India was having one of the most severe tensions with China on the disputed Himalayan border.
Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a conflict that erupted between the two armies in June and led to months-long diplomatic negotiations aimed at easing tensions. But negotiation has not helped reduce hostility so far.
Relations between the United States and China have also deteriorated in recent months, with President Donald Trump repeatedly criticizing Beijing’s handling of the corona virus pandemic. The United States has also criticized China’s imposition of new cybersecurity laws in Hong Kong, following major protests.
Narrow diplomatic swing
Vikas Pandey, BBC News, Delhi
This agreement is of utmost importance, in the current geopolitical context. The United States seems to see an opportunity in the border tension between China and India and wants to strengthen its role in the region.
The agreement is seen as a signal to China that Washington views Dehli as a close military ally. And this will likely reinforce the anti-China tone of the Trump administration.
But Indian officials will have to balance themselves in a very tight diplomatic turn.
Delhi continues to hold military-grade talks with Beijing to ease the situation on the border and a peaceful solution is in its best interest. India will not want conflict, however limited, at a time when it is fighting a protracted pandemic.
This was clearly seen in the statements of the leaders of the two countries at a press conference on Tuesday.
Although Mr. Singh and Mr. Jaishankar did not directly mention China in their statement, Mr. Esper and Mr. Pompei did not mention China.
India will also have to be careful about relations with Russia. It will be interesting to see how the country balances its military and strategic relations with Washington and Moscow.
This agreement is a step toward deepening military ties between the United States and India. India is one of the largest buyers of military equipment in the world, but Russia supplies 60-70% of its equipment.
The United States wants to change this and has become the fastest growing supplier of military equipment in recent years.
The visit of the two US ministers this time reinforces the “commitment of the United States and India to deepen military cooperation,” according to an official statement issued after the two defense ministers, Esper and Singh said on Monday.
Image source, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India / Brochure
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan, landed in Delhi on Monday
This is an annual “two plus two” negotiation between India and the United States.
The first talks took place in Delhi in 2018. The talks were scheduled for early this year, but were postponed due to the pandemic and took place just a week before US Election Day. The timing of the visit shows India as a priority for the United States, analysts say.
After India, Pompeo and Esper will continue their Asian tour, with stops in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
