INDIA. India and the United States are all set to sign an agreement related to the defence-deal. By this agreement, India will get access to the US satellite data for better accuracy of its missiles and drones.
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Meanwhile, the two countries are going to announce the details of their pact soon. Interestingly, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Mark Esper are visiting the country next week. According to the reports, they will talk about the deals with their Indian counterparts, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh.
The US has been pushing for stronger security ties with India to balance China’s growing influence. Since 2007, US companies have sold more than $21 billion of weapons to India. Washington has been urging the Indian government to sign the agreements for sharing of sensitive information for better use of high-end military equipment.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet has already discussed the final draft of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation on Wednesday. This will allow the US to provide advanced navigational aids on US-supplied aircraft to India.
India has been hesitant about getting drawn into a US-led security alliance and antagonizing China. However, tensions have risen dramatically with China due to clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh.
There is already a robust intelligence sharing between the US and India regarding Chinese activities. It includes information on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deployments on the Indian border and Chinese maritime activities. According to the officials, two countries are sharing a large amount of data between each other.
