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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and the United States signed an agreement Thursday on the security of military communications, which broke new ground on Thursday, opening the way for the sale of sensitive US military hardware to India.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj attend a joint press conference after a meeting in New Delhi, India on September 6, 2018. REUTERS / Adnan Abidi
The pact was signed after US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The world's two largest democracies have come together in recent years, looking for ways to counterbalance China's growing influence in Asia, including Pakistan, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Before coming to India, Pompeo met in Islamabad with the new Pakistani government and generals, aimed at appeasing tensions after President Donald Trump made further accusations against Pakistan. .
The presence of US troops in Afghanistan has heightened US sensitivity to the rivalry between India with nuclear weapons and Pakistan. Washington and New Delhi share concerns about anti-Western and anti-Indian Islamist militant groups based in Pakistan.
The Compatibility and Security of Communications Agreement (COMCASA), signed Thursday, has been stalled for years because of India's concerns about opening up its communications network to the US military.
Pompeo said the deal was a "major step forward", according to which officials have previously allowed the US to transfer high-tech equipment such as armed surveillance drones. New Delhi has been looking for drones to monitor the Indian Ocean, where China, a close ally of Pakistan, has made repeated incursions in recent years.
India and the United States have also agreed to open a telephone line between their foreign leaders and to organize joint exercises involving the Air Force, Navy and the United States. The army off the Indian coasts in 2019, said the Indian government.
"The momentum of our defense partnership has given rise to considerable positive energy that has elevated the United States to India. relationships at unprecedented heights, "said Sitharaman.
A senior US defense official said that the United States has only signed similar pacts with less than 30 other countries.
"This not only allows us to be more interoperable with India, but it also allows India to be more interoperable between its own systems. And most importantly, it opens up a whole range of defense technologies to India, "said Joseph Felter. defense for South and Southeast Asia, told a small group of reporters.
Felter said that by signing the agreement, some Indian weapons systems would see an immediate increase in capabilities, including the C-130 and C-17 aircraft.
The United States has become India's second largest arms supplier, with deals worth $ 15 billion over the last decade.
Experts believe that the signing of the COMCASA agreement could also reduce the chances of the United States imposing sanctions on India for seeking to buy Russian ground-to-air missile systems. 400.
The United States has imposed radical sanctions on Russia, under which any country engaged in its defense and intelligence sectors could face US secondary sanctions.
However, a new defense bill proposes to give the US president permission to grant waivers where national security interests are at stake.
Felter said the issue of a potential purchase of S-400 by India was not addressed during the negotiations. Later, Pompeo told reporters that the United States was not seeking to punish India for its proposed purchase.
The United States is also pushing countries to stop oil imports from Iran following Trump's withdrawal from a 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers aimed at delaying the development of Tehran's nuclear capabilities .
India is Iran's first oil buyer after China and is seeking a US waiver.
Before the talks in New Delhi, a senior US State Department official said the United States had engaged in "very detailed talks" with India on Washington's demand to stop oil imports completely. 'India.
"We are asking all our partners, not just India, to reduce oil imports from Iran to zero, so I am confident that this will be part of our conversation with India," said the official.
Additional report by Krishna N.Das; Edited by Nick Macfie
