Foreign
India and the United States are set to sign a key agreement on sharing satellite data for military purposes during a meeting of top defence and foreign policy officials.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence secretary Mark Esper are holding a dialogue on Tuesday with their Indian counterparts Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh aimed at enhancing defence and strategic ties.
The bi-annual meeting of top defence and foreign policy officials comes at a time when India is engaged in a military stand-off with China along a disputed Himalayan border.
The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) will serve as one of three so-called foundational agreements between the two countries for sharing sensitive information and sophisticated military hardware.
The agreement would give India access to U.S. data systems like high-quality GPS and real-time data that would enhance the efficiency of military equipment acquired from the U.S., including missiles and aircraft.
Indian Defence Ministry statement after Esper and Singh held a one-on-one meeting Monday noted that “the two ministers expressed satisfaction that agreement of BECA will be signed during the visit.’’
The U.S. State Department in a pre-visit briefing said the discussions will focus on global cooperation, on the pandemic response, challenges in the Indo-Pacific and defence and security cooperation.
There has been increasing defence cooperation between India and the U.S. in recent years, with both wary of China’s aggressive postures in the Asia-Pacific region.
The U.S. has sold India more than 20 billion dollars’ worth of military equipment since 2007. (dpa/NAN)
– Oct. 27 2020 @ 11:49 GMT |
Tags: India US to sign key defence pact on satellite data
