The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)

This agreement would facilitate exchange of geospatial information between India and United States for both military and civilian use.

BECA

• The agreement pertains to exchange of Geospatial-Intelligence information for use by the governments for defence and other purposes.
• It will allow India and the US to share military information including advanced satellite and topographic data such as maps, nautical and aeronautical charts and geodetic, geophysical, geomagnetic and gravity data.
• BECA is an important precursor to India acquiring armed unmanned aerial vehicles such as the Predator-B from the USA. Predator-B uses spatial data for accurate strikes on enemy targets.
• The pact includes a provision of sharing classified information with safeguards to prevent it from being shared with any third party.
• BECA is to help India and the US counter growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

2+2 Talks:

The 2+2 dialogue is the highest-level(Ministerial) institutional mechanism between India and the USA that brings together the perspectives of the two countries on foreign policy, defence and strategic issues.

• Strengthening the Defense and Security Partnership
• Partners in the Indo-Pacific and Beyond
• Promoting Prosperity and People-to-People Ties

India-US defence deal

The previous three are

• The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) signed in 2002. An extension – the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) was signed in 2019.
• The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) signed in 2016.
• The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018.

Significance and benefits for India from BECA 

• The BECA will allow US armed forces to provide advanced navigational aids and avionics on US-supplied aircraft to India.
• Sharing geospatial intelligence with the US through BECA will boost the Indian military’s accuracy of automated hardware systems and weapons like cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones.
• It is a key step for India when it comes to acquiring armed drones such as MQ-9B from the US.

Way Forward

• Strategic Hedging.
• Indo-China conflict.
• The increase in India’s maritime interactions with the Quad countries centred around information sharing for improved MDA in the Indian Ocean Region and Indo-Pacific will strengthen India’s position internationally.