My letter from Washington: Consolidating gains. India & US to sign BECA. India to "lease" two drones from USG very soon, 2+2 and a possible NSA meeting -- all before Nov. 3 election. Look at the various agreements in Indo-Pacific and a picture is emerging. epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TheE…
The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) on sharing geospatial intelligence will be signed during the next ‘2+2’ dialogue in New Delhi. With Beca, India can get a closer look at Pakistan in all its bare necessities, training camps and all. Info traffic to be one-way.
India and the US are expected to sign a maritime information-sharing agreement to bolster the most promising area of cooperation. Maritime cooperation is the low-key and high-yield aspect of Indo-US ties and the backbone of the Indo-Pacific strategy.
The array of meetings comes against the background of a China ‘gone rogue’ for all practical purposes, or to a place from where it’s finding it hard to come back. Opening multiple fronts, China, is pushing other countries to a place from where they may not return.
Just to recap, India and Japan deepened their military cooperation and signed a 10-year pact last week. It allows their militaries to share logistics and supplies for ships and planes besides encouraging interoperability. The Acquisition & Cross Services agreement last act of Abe
Then the US signed a defence framework agreement with the Maldives on Sept 10 to deepen relations & to maintain peace & security in the Indian Ocean. India welcomed it - a measure of change in outlook. See the web of agreements growing in the region, creating interlinkages.
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