ARCHIVES

India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

Search 27th Oct, 2020 Spotlight News Analysis here: http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx

Topic: General Studies 3:

In News: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the third edition of the 2+2 talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper. Both sides were assisted by top military and security officials. 

Aim: Further ramping up their overall defence and security ties and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time China is attempting to expand its economic and military clout in the region.

Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)

The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) was signed during the dialogue. The signing of the agreement would allow the US to share precision satellite and topographical data from its constellation of military satellites on a real time basis.

This assumes significance as talks are taking place at a time when India is locked in a tense standoff with China in eastern Ladakh and the Trump administration’s growing friction with Beijing over a host of issues including trade tariff and the Chinese military’s offensive manoeuvres in the South China Sea. The situation in eastern Ladakh and China’s overall aggressive behaviour including in the Indo-Pacific region are likely to figure in the talks.

The Indo-US defence ties 

The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. Both enjoy robust defence industrial cooperation. 

What do these three pacts put together mean?

While LEMOA means one partner trusts the other enough to expose its valuable assets, COMCASA means one is confident that it can rely on encrypted systems to connect the two militaries, and BECA means it can share highly classified information in real time without fear of being compromised. All this signals the level of trust that has developed between the two countries and their militaries, faced with an increasingly aggressive China.

Now, with these key defence pacts in place, cooperation can happen in a more structured and efficient way, rather than episodic.

In relation to the ongoing border standoff

Amid the longest stand-off on the India-China border in three decades, India and the US have intensified under-the-radar intelligence and military cooperation at an unprecedented level, especially since June.

Indo-Pacific

In a significant move amid a Sino-India border row, India had announced Australia’s participation in the upcoming Malabar exercise along with the U.S. and Japan, effectively making it the first military-level engagement between the four-member nation grouping – the Quad. The United States will keep working with India to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific and will remain steadfast as India seeks to defend its sovereignty from external aggression.

India, the U.S. and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military maneuvering in the region. In November 2017, India, Japan, the U.S. and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quad” to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

Must Read: On the Quad, define the idea, chart a path

Connecting the Dots:

  1. Bilateral Relations between India and USA
  2. Short note: Peace in Indo-pacific region

Search now.....

Sign Up To Receive Regular Updates