India, US set for military pact on satellite data during Pompeo visit
US companies have sold India more than $21 billion of weapons since 2007 and Washington has been urging the Indian government to sign agreements allowing for sharing of sensitive information and encrypted communications for better use of the high-end military equipment
India is closing in on an agreement with the United States that will give it access to satellite data for better accuracy of missiles and drones, government and industry officials said, as it tries to narrow the gap with the powerful Chinese military.
The two sides are expected to announce the pact during the
visit next week of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark
Esper for talks in New Delhi with Indian counterparts Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
and Rajnath Singh.
The United States, which antagonised Beijing this week by
approving the potential sale of three weapons systems to Taiwan, has also been
pushing for stronger security ties with India to help balance China’s growing
regional influence.
US companies have sold India more than $21 billion of weapons since 2007 and Washington has been urging the Indian government to sign agreements allowing for sharing of sensitive information and encrypted communications for better use of the high-end military equipment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet discussed the final
draft of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation
on Wednesday, an Indian government source said.
An accord would provide India with access to a range of
topographical, nautical and aeronautical data, a defence industry source said.
It would also allow the United States to provide advanced
navigational aids and avionics on US-supplied aircraft to India, the defence
source said.
“It is a foundational agreement, which the US has signed
with many of its partners for greater interoperability,” the source said.
India has traditionally been hesitant about getting drawn
into a US-led security alliance and antagonising China. But tensions have risen
dramatically with China this summer, erupting into a clash between border
troops in the western Himalayas.
This week New Delhi agreed to invite Australia into next
month’s naval exercises scheduled with the United States and Japan, disregarding
concerns it would anger China, which sees such a grouping as directed against
it.
“In tandem, the moves signal a new level of strategic
convergence between the two democracies and a break from India’s ‘non-aligned’
past,” said Jeff Smith, a South Asia expert at the Heritage Foundation, about
the proposed pact.
Already there is robust intelligence sharing between US and
India, particularly about Chinese activity in the region, a second government
official said.
This includes information on PLA deployments on the Indian
border and also Chinese maritime activity, including its deep water fishing
fleets, which have caused friction between Beijing and other countries.
“They are sharing a large amount of data,” said the official.
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