NEW DELHI: The long-negotiated Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) signed on Tuesday will take the India-US defence ties to a historic high, according to experts.
The agreement, which will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information, comes in the backdrop of India’s tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
The BECA will give India access to classified geo-spatial data as well as critical information having significant military applications from the US. Group Captain (retd) Ajey Lele said signing of BECA fills an important gap as the geo-spatial data will strengthen the Indian military’s responses in terms of accuracy.
“Till date we used to talk of the lethality of the systems, but now accuracy of systems will be factored by the adversary,” he said.
Even more important is India’s nuclear deterrence from the view of posturing and capability.
“While we have developed the strategic triad (hitting enemy from land, air and water), the accuracy of the platforms will also increase for pinpoint targeting,” he said.
Defence Analyst Commodore (retd) Anil Jai Singh, pointed to the Indian concerns, “There have been fears like, ‘are we giving away too much of information’ and ‘can they tap into our communication?’ The very fact that these agreements have taken years (to materialise) indicates the government must have deep dived into these concerns, with safety and protocols in place and India’s sovereignty adequately protected.” The BECA completes finalisation of four key pacts identified as crucial to significantly expand India-US strategic ties.
This began with US and India signing a key pact called General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002, which provides for specific measures to ensure security standards for safeguarding critical information shared by the US with India.
In 2016, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) was signed which allows militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
In the same year, the US designated India a ‘Major Defence Partner’ which paved the way for defence trade and technology sharing to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners.
The COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) came in 2018, providing interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high- end technology from the US to India.