World India, US to sign satellite data pact ahead of talks over China

India is set to sign a military agreement with the United States for the sharing of sensitive satellite data as the two sides began a top-level security dialogue on Monday aimed at countering China’s growing power in the region.

© Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper lay wreaths at the National War Memorial in New Delhi ... Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper lay wreaths at the National War Memorial in New Delhi [Jewel Samad/Reuters]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper flew into New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders at a time when India is locked in its most serious military standoff with China in decades at the disputed Himalayan border.

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The United States and India are set to sign a military agreement to share sensitive satellite intelligence, India ’s defense ministry said on Monday. Following Esper’s meeting with Singh, the Indian defense minister tweeted that talks “were fruitful,” and “aimed at further deepening defence

India and the United States will sign a military agreement on sharing of satellite data during the current visit by U. S. Defense Secretary IPO of the Alibaba-backed company could generate nearly billion in proceeds, which would make it the world's biggest IPO ahead of Saudi Aramco's .4 billion.

Washington, for its part, has also ramped the diplomatic pressure on China, as ties worsen over a range of issues from Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus to its imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong and ambitions in the South China Sea.

Ahead of the formal two-plus-two talks on Tuesday involving top diplomats and military officials, Esper met his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh to discuss the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) on Geospatial Cooperation that is ready for signing, the Indian defence ministry said.

“The two ministers expressed satisfaction that agreement of BECA will be signed during the visit,” the ministry said in a statement.

The accord would provide India with access to a range of topographical, nautical and aeronautical data that is considered vital for the firing of missiles and armed drones.

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Ahead of the formal two-plus-two talks on Tuesday involving top diplomats and military officials, Esper met his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and U . S . companies have sold India more than billion of weapons since 2007 and Washington has been urging the Indian government to sign agreements

The U . S . and India will sign a defense agreement and boost trade ties in high-level talks that come as the South Asian nation sees its worst border conflict with In comparison, India spent .86 billion on aid to six of its neighbors over four years ending 2018, according to figures provided to the nation’s

It would also allow the US to provide advanced navigational aids and avionics on US-supplied aircraft to India, an Indian defence source said.

Esper has been pressing the case for India to buy US F-18 jets and move away from its reliance on Russian weaponry.

US companies have sold India more than $21bn of weapons since 2007 and Washington has been urging the Indian government to sign agreements allowing for sharing of sensitive information and encrypted communications for better use of the high-end military equipment.

Esper also welcomed Australia’s participation in next month’s naval exercises involving India, US and Japan off the Bay of Bengal.

China has previously opposed such multilateral war games, seeing them as aimed against it. India had also long resisted expanding them for fear this would rile Beijing up.

But the border tension with China this summer, which erupted in a clash killing 20 Indian soldiers, has hardened the public mood against Beijing and is driving closer ties with the US, analysts say.

“Our talks today were fruitful, aimed at further deepening defence cooperation in a wide range of areas,” Singh said in a tweet.

Pompeo separately met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who tweeted that relations between the emerging allies have “grown substantially in every domain”.

In a statement, the US State Department lauded “the strong partnership between the United States and India”, declaring it to be “critical to the security and prosperity of both countries, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world”.

After India, Pompeo will travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two Indian Ocean countries where China has financed and built various infrastructure, which has alarmed India and the US.