India, US ink new defence framework for 10 years

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 31.

• The two leaders appreciated the continuing momentum in the bilateral defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to further build upon the mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars. 

• They reviewed the ongoing defence issues and the challenges that persist and deliberated upon the ongoing defence industry and technology collaborations. 

• Hegseth reiterated that India is a priority country for the US in defence cooperation and they were committed to work closely with India to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.

• After the meeting, both leaders signed the ‘Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership’ which will usher a new era in an already strong defence partnership. 

• It is intended to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen defence cooperation.

• It was firmed up as the validity of a similar pact signed in 2015 is coming to an end.

• The framework marks a new chapter to further transform the partnership over the next 10 years and that it is intended to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen defence cooperation.

Major Defence Partner

• The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

• In June 2016, the US designated India a ‘Major Defence Partner’ paving way for sharing of critical military equipment and technology.

• The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

• The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

• In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.