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<ul><li>During the 2+2 talks on September 6th, <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> signed the the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (<keyword id="4156075" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="COMCASA">COMCASA</keyword>), which facilitates the sharing of military intelligence. </li><li>Under the agreement, India will be given access to a host of <keyword id="6354458" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="US">US</keyword> military technologies like advanced drones and communication platforms. </li><li>The COMCASA, which is valid for 10 years, is the second of three “foundational agreements” for military purposes that India has signed with the US. </li></ul>As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-whats-in-store-for-indias-22-talks-with-the-us/articleshow/65667426.cms">expected</a>, India’s 2+2 talks with the US on September 6th focussed heavily on defence, counter-terrorism and trade. The countries’ first bilateral dialogue of this nature featured India’s Defence Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> and Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj along with their US counterparts - Defence Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State <keyword id="3109665" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mike-Pompeo">Mike Pompeo</keyword>. While a lot of ground was covered, the primary achievement of the talks was the signing of a landmark military-intelligence sharing agreement that was nearly 10 years in the making. Under the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), India will be given access to a host of US military technologies like advanced drones and communication platforms. For example, India’s US-sourced maritime patrol aircrafts will be outfitted with technology that enables direct communication with the US military and the sharing of live satellite feeds. India could also have direct linkages with US allies that use similar equipment. While the COMCASA is a standard bilateral agreement, it was specifically modified to cater to Indian concerns. The US assured India complete access to all equipment it supplied and said it wouldn’t share any sensitive data culled from US-origin military and communication systems in India with any third parties. It also pledged to give India an advance warning of six months in the event that communications had to be severed. Besides keeping the pressure on Pakistan to curb terrorism, the major impetus behind the ramping up of military cooperation between the two countries seems to be <keyword id="1334" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>’s expansionism across Asia. This can be seen in China’s Belt and Road Initiative as well as its maneuvers against smaller nations in the South China Sea. In an increasingly polarised world, the US needs to know it has a friend it can count on in South Asia. The COMCASA will be valid for 10 years, after which its renewal will be negotiated. It is the second of three “foundational agreements” that the US signs with its military allies. The first one is the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which allows the signatory access to resources from US military bases and vice versa. India has already signed this. The third one is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), which facilitates the unconditional sharing of geospatial data. India and US are yet to begin negotiations on this. As a complement to COMCASA, a <keyword id="6482770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="hotline">hotline</keyword> will also be established not only between the countries’ defence and foreign ministers but also between the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy in the interest of security in the <keyword id="12350" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Ocean">Indian Ocean</keyword>.

India and the US just signed a landmark military-intelligence sharing agreement

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Disputes between <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> and <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> over their border in the Himalayas have intensified in recent months, after a deadly clash between their troops in June.</li><li>That adds to broader competition between India and China on land and at sea around Asia, but recent military agreements with the US allow India to watch rival Chinese forces more closely.</li></ul>As tension between India and China has increased in recent months, the US military has helped India keep an eye on Chinese forces, senior US military commanders said in November.A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indian-troops-unarmed-and-surprised-in-china-clash-families-say-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deadly brawl</a> on India and China's disputed border in the Himalayas in June was their first such clash in decades. Since then both have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/satellite-photos-show-border-buildup-after-deadly-china-india-clash-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reinforced their positions</a>, and India has had help monitoring Chinese forces."From the real-world standpoint, we've gotten closer this year with India, especially on the <keyword id="656002" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Intelligence-sharing">intelligence sharing</keyword>, particularly related to the situation that's occurring on their northeast border with China," Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, head of US Pacific Air Forces, said at an event in November."We've been doing quite a bit of intelligence sharing, as much as we can, with them to help out our great friend, India," added Wilsbach, who took command in July.<div type="image" title="India troops soldiers Ladakh" height="1333" width="2000" msid="79885495" hostid="261"></div>That sharing likely has been facilitated in recent weeks by the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, a military agreement the US and India signed in late October.BECA "will allow us to expand our partnership and exchange foundational information," Vice Adm. Robert Sharp, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the US signatory on the deal, said at <a href="https://www.cfr.org/event/conversation-vice-admiral-robert-sharp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a separate event</a> last month.BECA gives India access to topographical, nautical, and aeronautical data and allows the US to provide advanced navigational aids and avionics, a defense industry source <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-asia/india-u-s-set-for-military-pact-on-satellite-data-during-pompeo-visit-idUSKBN27711P" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Reuters</a> ahead of the signing. Geospatial data provided under the deal will give Indian missiles "<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/beca-the-deal-that-will-make-indian-missiles-deadlier-has-finally-been-signed/articleshow/78885862.cms#:~:text=India%20and%20the%20US%20inked,information%20between%20the%20two%20countries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a killer edge</a>" in targeting, as one Indian media outlet put it."That exchanging and sharing of foundational information is a good basis to start to operate ... off the same map," Sharp said.<h2>Crossing the hump</h2><div type="image" title="India runway Port Blair Andaman Nicobar Islands" height="903" width="1400" msid="79885496" hostid="261"></div>BECA is the fourth of four foundational agreements. A 2002 deal allowed sharing of classified military information. A 2016 logistics deal allows each military to use the other's facilities for repair or resupply. A third deal in 2018 gave India access to secure communications equipment, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-india-comcasa-deal-improves-ability-to-communicate-and-track-subs-2018-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowing closer coordination</a> with US forces.There have already been demonstrations of cooperation under these deals. US ships have refueled Indian warships, and a US maritime patrol aircraft recently refueled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the eastern <keyword id="12350" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Indian-Ocean">Indian Ocean</keyword>, which the US government called "<a href="https://www.dla.mil/AboutDLA/News/NewsArticleView/Article/2397837/us-aircraft-inaugural-refueling-in-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a historical event</a>."The agreements are a sign of India softening the strict non-aligned stance it held throughout the Cold War, which is driven in part by recent US overtures and Chinese aggressiveness."These two complimentary forces, I think, are pushing India toward sort of more overt balancing activities and more confidence in establishing a meaningful strategic partnership with the US," said Jeff Smith, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation think tank.The shift reflects "a revolution in the way that India views the world and aligns with partners in Asia," Hervé Lemahieu, director of the Power and Diplomacy Program at Australia's Lowy Institute think tank, said in October.India "has chosen to align itself with the United States far more assertively, and with countries like Australia, with whom it doesn't really have much of a traditional relationship," Lemahieu told Insider.Disputed land borders with Pakistan and China are likely to remain the Indian military's major focus, but New Delhi is increasingly active in the Indian Ocean - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-china-border-clashes-could-cause-more-indian-ocean-activity-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">where China's military and diplomatic presence is growing</a> - bolstering its own forces as well as its cooperation with others.<div type="image" title="India Navy guided-missile cruiser Princeton destroyer Chennai" height="1333" width="2000" msid="79885506" hostid="261"></div>The meeting where BECA was signed also reportedly included a maritime information-sharing agreement, allowing India to better track activity in the Indian Ocean. India's Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region, set up two years ago, now has <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/expanding-outreach-indian-navy-ties-up-with-21-nations-for-maritime-awareness-346490" target="_blank" rel="noopener">21 countries sharing</a> information on maritime activity in the area.Indian foreign aid, meant to counter Chinese lending, also continues to flow despite recent economic headwinds. "That tells you, I think, how important building these relationships are to India in terms of countering China in the region," Rani Mullen, a professor at William and Mary and expert on South Asia, <a href="https://www.hudson.org/events/1901-video-event-partnering-in-the-indo-pacific122020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at a recent think-tank event.India is "is deepening its defense diplomacy" and "being more ambitious" with those partnerships, Lemahieu said, but there are still questions about how India will apply the agreements it spent two decades negotiating with the US."We went on for years negotiating over the dots and the T's ... and I guess in some ways it's a good thing that we've crossed that hump," Ashley Tellis, an expert on <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> security at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said at an event in November."Now the question to my mind is, OK, you've done the agreements. What are you going to do about them? How are you actually going to implement them?" Tellis added. "This is where I think India still has a long ways to go."In the weeks since signing BECA, India has leased two US-made MQ-9B surveillance drones to monitor its maritime and land boundaries, an acquisition facilitated by policy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-arms-trump/u-s-relaxes-rules-to-export-more-aerial-drones-idUSKCN24P2IC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changes</a> in both <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-leases-hi-tech-us-naval-drones-to-boost-surveillance-intel/story-NeW0gNA1HYJ44V3m9C5qAL.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">countries</a>. Those exchanges and others under the foundational agreements will likely inspire more trust, feeding a "virtuous cycle," Smith said."In many cases, India benefits more than the US does from these military cooperation agreements," Smith told Insider. "The practitioners are operationalizing these agreements and realizing that it brings real benefit to India."

The US is helping India keep an eye on China's military, top US commanders say

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper will arrive here on October 26 for the third edition of the two-plus-two <keyword id="3097277" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministerial-Dialogue">ministerial dialogue</keyword> which is taking place just a week ahead of the American presidential election and in the midst of India's festering border row with China. The two-plus-two dialogue will be held on Tuesday. The Indian side at the talks will be represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. A host of crucial bilateral, regional and global issues including China's efforts to expand influence in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its aggressive behaviour in eastern Ladakh is likely to figure in the talks. In the last few months, the US has been ramping up attack on China over a range of contentious issues including the border row with India, its military assertiveness in <keyword id="9256875" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-south-china-sea">the South China Sea</keyword> and the way Beijing handled the anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Last week, <keyword id="193522" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="External-Affairs-Ministry">External Affairs Ministry</keyword> Spokesperson <keyword id="916281" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anurag-Srivastava">Anurag Srivastava</keyword> said the talks will entail a comprehensive discussion on cross-cutting bilateral issues as well as deliberations on regional and global developments. Pompeo and Esper will have bilateral meetings with their Indian counterparts as well. They are also scheduled to make a joint call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Officials said US Secretary of Defence Esper will be given a tri-services guard of honour at the lawns of South Block in <keyword id="10169121" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-raisina-hills">the Raisina Hills</keyword> on Monday afternoon. It is expected that the two sides may finalise the long-pending BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The BECA will provide for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries. The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. In June 2016, the US had designated India a "Major Defence Partner" intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners. The two countries inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation. The two countries signed another pact called COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high end technology from the US to India. The first edition of the two-plus-two dialogue was held in Delhi in September 2018 after the mechanism was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword>. The second edition of the dialogue took place in Washington in December last year. The new framework of the ministerial dialogue was initiated in order to provide a forward-looking vision for the strategic partnership between the two countries. MPB RT

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper to arrive in India today

<keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> has agreed to reopen talks with the <keyword id="6354458" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="US">US</keyword> 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 (<keyword id="196277" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="LSA">LSA</keyword>), 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 <keyword id="6363133" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manohar-Parrikar">Manohar Parrikar</keyword> has conveyed to his US counterpart <keyword id="6696528" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ashton-Carter">Ashton Carter</keyword> 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)

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

It looks like "Trump Trade" is back on beca use of the tax proposal set to be released next Monday, which should reveal specifics on lowering the corporate tax rate. President Trump has been talking about cutting the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% since 2015. Though, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-plan-still-wants-15-corporate-rate-republicans-doubt-it-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">he doesn't seem to have much support from fellow Republicans to go quite that far</a>. According to JPMorgan head of equity strategy, Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, if the tax rate is cut to 25% that could increase S&amp;P 500 earnings per share by $11.40 to $143.40, adding 150 points to the index at the given multiple. <a href="https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/market-and-economic-insights/washington-policy-and-market-implications" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jim Febeo, senior vice president of government relations at Fidelity Investments</a>, points out that "Before tax reform can advance, Congress needs to pass a budget for 2018 to provide the protected vehicle known as budget reconciliation" which he explains "would allow tax reform to pass the Senate with only 51 votes." Which means the political pressure for tax reform could make it easier get an agreement on the budget.But as Fidelity Investment's director of global macro Jurrien Timmer says "most long-term investors don't need to react to short-term events."

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India and the US just signed a landmark military-intelligence sharing agreement

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