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India and the United States signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) recently.
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What is BECA?
The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement largely pertains to geospatial intelligence, and sharing information on maps and satellite images for defence.
BECA will provide Indian military systems with a high-quality GPS to navigate and missiles with real-time intelligence to precisely target the adversary.
It will give access to topographical and aeronautical data and products that will aid navigation and targeting.
This signing completes a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation between the two countries.
The other two foundational agreements the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) were signed earlier.
The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) was signed in 2016.
- It aims to provide mutual logistics support around the world.
- 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.
The Communication Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed in 2018
- It aims to facilitate communication between the weapons platforms of the two-armed forces
- The pact allows 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.
