The third India-US two plus two dialogue is expected to take place here on October 26-27 with the Narendra Modi government ready to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geo-spatial cooperation. The last of four military communication foundational agreements, BECA is an important precursor to India acquiring armed drones such as the MQ-9B from the US as the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) uses spatial data for pinpointed strikes on enemy targets.
The India-US interaction at the ministerial level will expand sharply this month with external affairs minister S Jaishankar meeting his US counterpart Mike Pompeo at the Quad security dialogue in Tokyo on October 6. This will be followed by the visit of US deputy secretary of state Stephen Beigun in mid-October and finally US defence secretary Mark Esper and defence minister Rajnath Singh will join the two foreign ministers in the two plus two dialogue.
While the dates for the two plus two are being finalised, the signing of BECA will be a very significant development as it allows India to use global geo-spatial maps of the US for accuracy of stand-off weapons like cruise and ballistic missiles. Already the two countries have activated all the three foundational agreements with both using each other’s designated military facilities for refuelling and replenishment. The communication agreement allows both countries to share military information about threats on land and the Indo-Pacific.Read more…
