India Signs Military Pact with the United States to Share Satellite Data
India and the United States confirmed to strengthen their military ties (Flickr).
India and the United States signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), a military agreement that allows the sharing of sensitive satellite and map data between the two countries amid the India-China military standoff. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a two-plus-two dialogue with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper in New Delhi on October 27 to reach the agreement.
The annual dialogue between India and the United States comes at a time of turbulent India-China relations, which have deteriorated since May of this year due to a border dispute in the Himalayan mountains.
BECA will give India access to U.S. topographical, nautical, and aeronautical data, which will be vital if the country hopes to use missiles and armed drones. According to Indian military sources, BECA will also allow India to purchase arms from the United States that depend on the geospatial data.
Sameer Patil, a fellow for international security studies at Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House, claims that access to real-time imagery provided by BECA would allow India to monitor deployment and movement of Chinese troops.
Esper remarked at a press conference after the meetings that the military pact marks a “significant milestone” that would strengthen cooperation between the two countries’ militaries. “We stand shoulder to shoulder in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific for all, particularly in view of increasing aggression and destabilizing activities by China,” Esper said.
Pompeo expressed that the two countries had to cooperate to confront China’s threats to the region’s security and freedom. “Our leaders, and our citizens, see with increasing clarity that the Chinese Communist Party is no friend to democracy, the rule of law, transparency, nor to freedom of navigation, the foundation of a free and open, prosperous Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Although Jaishankar and Singh did not name China in the press conference, they emphasized the importance of respecting the rule of law and freedom of navigation and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
In response to the military pact, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged Pompeo “to abandon his Cold War mentality, zero-sum mindset, and stop harping on the China threat.”
Pakistan also criticized the BECA in a Foreign Office statement claiming that the provision of advanced military technology and knowledge to India poses a significant threat to strategic stability in South Asia.