BECA between India and US

  • India and the United States signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).
  • This along with the two agreements signed earlier, which are the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), completed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation between the two countries.
 BASIC EXCHANGE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT (BECA)
  • BECA will help India get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence.
  • This will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones. 
  • Through the sharing of information on maps and satellite images, it will help India access topographical and aeronautical data, and advanced products that will aid in navigation and targeting.
  • BECA will provide Indian military systems with a high-quality GPS to navigate missiles with real-time intelligence to precisely target the adversary.
LOGISTICS EXCHANGE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (LEMOA) 
  • LEMOA was the first of the three pacts to be signed in August 2016. 
  • LEMOA allows the militaries of the US and India to replenish 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.
  • LEMOA is extremely useful for India-US Navy-to-Navy cooperation, since the two countries are cooperating closely in the Indo-Pacific. 
 COMMUNICATIONS COMPATIBILITY AND SECURITY AGREEMENT (COMCASA)
  • COMCASA was signed in September 2018, after the first 2+2 dialogue during which then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met the visiting Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and then Secretary of Defence James N Mattis.
  • The pact allowed the US to provide India with its encrypted communications equipment and systems so that Indian and US military commanders, and the aircraft and ships of the two countries, can communicate through secure networks during times of both peace and war.

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