By Chathushka Perera
New Delhi (CWBN)_The last of four foundational agreements for military ties between India and the US, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA), was effectively discussed between the two parties during Defence Planning Group (DPG) meeting that took place in Washington recently. BECA would enable India to obtain access to the advanced satellite network maintained by the US, which provides enhanced guidance and targeting for ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.
When initially presented with BECA, the India Government expressed concern over the agreement’s implications on national security, however, the parties have since been communicating amendments. BECA is expected to be signed by December this year.
India has already agreed to the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA – 2016) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA – 2018), with the US. The former is an India-specific version of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) that the US has agreed to with most of its closest allies. It provides the parties to maintain certain military facilities for the purposes of replenishment and refuelling, support facilities for US-India joint military exercises, port access, and humanitarian and disaster relief assistance.
COMCASA, another tailored agreement for India, which remains valid for a period of 10 years (2028), provides access to advanced US defence systems and enables encrypted communications for military platforms such as C-17, C-130 and P-8Is that originate from the US.
The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed in 2002 and was the first among the four foundational agreements that were signed between the two countries. It enabled the sharing of classified information and granted military-tech cooperation.
