2+2 talks: India, US ink critical defence pact
It will pave way for sale of hi-tech armed drones to India
Following the culmination of the 2+2 Dialogue at the Foreign and Defence Ministerial level, India and the United States on Thursday inked the crucial defence Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) which will facilitate the obtaining by India of critical defence technologies from the US, access to critical communication networks installed on American defence platforms and reportedly pave the way for the sale of hi-tech armed drones to India.
After the dialogue between external affairs minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Jim Mattis, the two countries also decided to carry out a massive triservice exercise next year off India’s eastern coast, with New Delhi deciding to “enhance its interactions with the United States military’s Central Command”.
It was also decided to establish “hotlines” of communication between the two Indian ministers and their respective American counterparts.
In another development of huge significance, the two countries also called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries., adding that they called on Islamabad to “bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist attacks”.
New Delhi also said it “supports President Trump’s South Asia Policy” and that “his call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting crossborder terrorism finds resonance” with it.
New Delhi also raised the H1B visa issue, with Ms. Swaraj asking the US to keep the trust of Indians in their belief that it would not do anything against their interests.
The issue of import of Iranian oil and Russian arms like the S-400 was also discussed, with New Delhi putting across its case forcefully to Washington and hoping for waivers in both cases.