India has come close to a satellite access agreement with the United States to improve the performance of missiles and drones, aimed at countering China’s military might.
The agreement is likely to be announced next week during talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Asper during talks in New Delhi with Indian counterparts Subramaniam J. Shankar and Rajnath Singh, Reuters reported.
The United States this week approved the sale of three types of weapons to Taiwan in opposition to Beijing, while strengthening security ties with India to limit China’s influence in the region.
According to reports, US companies have sold more than 21 21 billion worth of weapons to India since 2017, and the US government has been urging India to sign an intelligence-sharing agreement to make better use of military equipment.
Referring to the expected agreement, Indian government sources said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet discussed the final draft of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation.
Defense Ministry sources said the agreement would give India access to various aerial and field data.
“This is a fundamental agreement that the United States has signed with many of its allies,” he said.
India had previously been reluctant to sign a military pact with the United States and harm China, but this year the situation with China has changed dramatically, with military clashes between the two countries on the western Himalayan border increasing tensions.
In the wake of tensions with China, India has stepped up its efforts to further improve its military strength and, keeping China’s potential concerns at bay, invited Australia this week to participate in naval exercises with the United States and Japan next month.
Jeff Smith, a South Asian affairs expert at the Heritage Foundation, said of the proposed agreement: “Bilaterally, this is a sign of a new level of strategic partnership between the two democracies and a breakdown of past non-cooperation with India.” ۔
Indian government sources said that intelligence was already being exchanged between the US and India, especially on China’s activities in the region.
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The partnership between the United States and India includes information on Chinese maritime activities, including the deployment of Chinese troops on the Indian border and deep-sea fishing, which has led to disputes with other countries.
The Indian official said that a large number of documents were being exchanged between the two countries.
It may be recalled that in 2019, the Indian Army had signed an agreement with the US arms manufacturer Sage Seoger for the purchase of 72,400 automatic rifles on an emergency basis.
Indian media had reported that India would buy rifles worth Rs 70 billion under Fast Track Procurement (FTP) from a US arms company called Sage Seoger.
It was further said that in January 2018, the Council of the Indian Department of Defense had initially approved the purchase of 72,400 automatic rifles (SIG 716) and 93,895 other rifles.
The Indian Defense Department had said that the rifles would be provided to troops stationed on various sensitive fronts.