• The BECA agreement will also help reduce India`s military division with China in the wake of tensions on the India-China border. India and China are in a border situation from April to May after the Chinese People`s Liberation Army invaded several areas of Indian territory. India and the United States finally signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) on Tuesday, the last of the three most important basic agreements between the two countries. The signing of BECA results from the signing of three other important pacts between the two countries, which have been identified as crucial for the significant expansion of strategic relations. The first of the Quartet is called the Comprehensive Agreement on Military Information Security (GSOMIA), which was signed by both countries in 2002. GSOMIA provides for specific measures to ensure security standards for the protection of critical information shared by the United States with India. In a major move in 2016, the US designated India as a “key defense partner” with the intention of raising defense and technology trade to a level equivalent to that of its closest allies and partners. The two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Logistics Exchange (LEMOA) in 2016, which allows their armed forces to use each other`s bases to repair and replenish supplies and allow for closer cooperation. LEMOA allows the U.S.

and Indian armed forces to resupply from each other`s bases and access supplies, spare parts, and services from each other`s land facilities, air bases, and ports, which can then be reimbursed. The BECA agreement will provide the armed forces of both countries with access to highly accurate geospatial data, high-end military technology and classified satellite data on defence-related issues. The military agreement was signed in the third round of the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and paves the way for a close and full partnership between India and the United States. The BECA deal was negotiated between India and the US for more than a decade, as the previous UPA administration was concerned about whether it would affect India`s national security, because under the bilateral agreement, India would also have to share similar data with the US. This agreement is one of the few fundamental agreements that the United States is signing with its close partners. • Most of the information exchanged is unclassified and is shared in digital or printed form. The BECA Agreement also provides for the exchange of classified information with appropriate safeguards to ensure that it is not disclosed to third parties. As already mentioned, it marks above all the strengthening of mutual trust and a commitment to the long-term strategic relationship. With these important defense pacts, U.S.-India cooperation can be more structured and effective than in episodic thrusts.

LEMOA was followed by the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), signed on 6 September 2018 at the first 2+2 Ministerial Meeting between India and the United States. The announcement came after a meeting between the Union`s Defense Secretary Rajnath Singh and his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper, who is traveling to India with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo for the India-U.S. 2+2 Dialogue. BECA will enable an extensive exchange of geodata between the armed forces. It has not yet been signed due to differences on the issue of reciprocity in the exchange of information. LEMOA has great advantages for India and the United States, especially in naval cooperation. The strategic agreement allows partners to make their military and strategic assets, such as warships and other facilities, accessible to each other, which requires building mutual trust. It took nearly a decade to negotiate LEMOA, and the exercise somehow closed the trust gap between India and the US and paved the way for the other two pacts. These talks facilitated the exchange of information between the security, military and intelligence services of the two countries, including the exchange of high-end satellite imagery, wiretapping and data on Chinese troops and weapons operations along the LAC. .