New Delhi: India and the US on Tuesday began a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time China is attempting to expand its economic and military clout in the region.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the third edition of the 2+2 talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper.
he situation in eastern Ladakh and China’s overall aggressive behaviour including in the Indo-Pacific region are likely to figure in the talks, according to sources.
In a reflection of growing bilateral defence ties, the two sides will seal a long-negotiated pact called BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) during the talks that will provide for sharing of high-end military technology, geo-spatial maps and classified satellite data.
The agreement will give India access to classified geo-spatial data as well as critical information having significant military applications.
Esper and Pompeo arrived here on Monday on a two-day visit for the talks which are taking place just a week before the presidential election in the US.
Officials said Indo-US relations have bipartisan support in the US and the scheduling of the dialogue a few days ahead of the November 3 presidential polls will have no impact on the outcome of the talks.
Ahead of the 2+2 dialogue both Singh and Jaishankar held separate talks with their US counterparts on Monday.
The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.
courtesy: otv news
