India and the United States defence relationship.

News Highlight

“We want to be the partner of choice for India,” a senior United States defence official said Wednesday.

Key Takeaway

• The officer stated that America is the best partner in sharing high­end technology and next ­generation equipment while India diversifies its military arsenal ending heavy dependence on Russia.

India-US defence and strategic cooperation

• Defence Relation:
  • The Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) between India and the United States aims to promote co-development and co-production initiatives.
    • The United States designated India as a “Major Defence Partner” in 2016, committing the US to enable technology sharing with India on a par with its closest friends and partners.
• The Defence Framework Agreement:
  • GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement )-a military information agreement signed in 2002.
  • LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement)-logistics exchange agreement signed in 2016
  • COMCASA (communications security agreement) was signed in 2018
  • BECA (Basic Exchange Cooperation Agreement) was signed in 2020
• Multilateral organisations:
  • The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries.
  • The I2U2 Group is a grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
  • The grouping aims to cooperate on “joint investments and new initiatives in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.”
• Energy:
  • The bilateral Strategic Energy Partnership between the two countries, which was launched in 2018, is strong and diversified across conventional and renewable energy sources.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the US EXIM Bank and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to offer US$ 1 billion in financing for India’s transition to a low-carbon economy. 
• Military exercises
  • Yudh Abhyas
  • Tiger Triumph
  • Malabar
• Formal Mechanism
  • 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the Defence Minister and External affairs ministers of both nations
• Science and Technology:
  • NASA – ISRO Corporation for joint Mars exploration.
  • NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) Mission
  • Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement.
  • Science and Technology Endowment Fund.
  • Establishment of Global Initiative of the Academy Network.

Issues and challenges

• Russian Arm Imports
  • The US has expressed particular concern regarding new streams of arms like the S-400 air defence system because they fuel Russian power.
• Russia-USA relations
  • Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, India has been having a hard time balancing its relations with the USA and Russia.
• Aid to Pakistan
  • The US also has arms shipments to Pakistan and aid to fight terrorism; frequently, these funds are diverted against Indian interests.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat
  • The mandate of this scheme seeks to reduce import dependence on the US and may cause issues in the relationship.
• CAATSA
  • The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
  • It is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
  • The imposition of CAATSA on Iran and Russia affects India’s bilateral relations with these nations. 

Content Source: The Hindu

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