2 + 2 Interviews: This will be the third edition of the 2 + 2 India-US Interviews (File)
New Delhi:
India will have access to precision data and topographic imagery – in real time – of US military satellites under an agreement to be signed during the ongoing visit of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary to Defense Mark Esper.
The agreement to share this data – BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) – is the third and last “fundamental” agreement that the United States has with close international partners. The two countries have already signed agreements to exchange military logistics and allow secure communications.
In a statement released on Monday, the government said Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Esper expressed satisfaction with the signing of the BECA during the visit as well as the close engagement between the armed forces. from both countries.
They also reviewed bilateral defense covering military-to-military cooperation, secure communication systems and information sharing, and also discussed potential new areas of cooperation.
Rajnath Singh said the talks would add “new vigor” to defense relations and cooperation between India and the United States.
Mr Esper also praised Australia’s participation in next month’s Exercise Malabar – a series of annual exercises that began in 1992 to strengthen cooperation between Indian and US navies.
India, along with the United States, Japan and Australia, will host the high-level naval exercise Malabar next month. Australia is returning to these exercises for the first time since 2007, when its participation drew criticism from China.
Last week, the United States said it was closely following the India-China standoff in Ladakh and was sharing information with Delhi. The United States has said it wants to make sure the situation does not escalate.
Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper are in India for the third edition of the 2 + 2 talks with their Indian counterparts – Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. These dialogues come days before the United States’ vote in national polls, with President Donald Trump running for re-election.
Ahead of the talks, which are scheduled to begin Tuesday and will include discussions on regional security cooperation, military interaction and defense trade, the US State Department said it welcomes the emergence of India as a leading regional and global power.
The first 2 + 2 interviews were held in Delhi in September 2018 and the second in Washington, DC in 2019.
