India to reopen talks with US on LSA pact that will allow access to each other's military bases

India has agreed to reopen talks with the US on a pact that will allow India to get access to military bases, ports, intelligence information and high-end technology of the latter. India took this decision defying the UPA’s fears of conveying an impression, especially to China, of a military alliance.

The proposed pact, which is called the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), allows both sides to make changes to each other's facilities in a way that it allows for easier conduct of military exercises besides expanding their scope and ambition.

Informed sources told ET that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has conveyed to his US counterpart Ashton Carter during his just concluded visit that India now has an open mind on the LSA as well as other pacts — CISMOA and BECA.

The CISMOA is an agreement that allows both militaries to come on a common communication platform. And, BECA, largely pertains to geo-spatial intelligence requiring sharing information on maps and satellite imaging for defence purposes.

(Image credits: indiatimes)