India, US Sign Deal To Share Military Facilities

India and the US on Monday have signed the bilateral Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) that will permit militaries of both countries to access each other’s facilities for supplies and repairs.

The LEMOA “will facilitate additional opportunities for practical engagement and exchange,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter was quoted as saying by The Hindu reported Tuesday.

Though it is enabling agreement, LEMOA does not make logistical support automatic nor obligatory for either party. Notably, it does not involve allowing military bases.

The services or supplies accessed will be on a reimbursable basis as per the new pact.

LEMOA is one of the four ‘foundational agreements’ that the US enters into with its defence partners. Including LEMOA, India has signed only two of the four.

Following the first one in 2002, the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the previous governments were hesitant of signing the other three, assuming that these may lock India into uncomfortable closeness with the US.

Still the pending ones are Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geospatial Intelligence. However, no timeline has been set for discussing these, Parrikar said.

The Minister and the Secretary both discussed India’s “major defence partner” designation, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in June. They agreed on the importance this framework will provide to facilitate innovative and advanced opportunities in defence technology and trade cooperation.

To this end, the US has agreed to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level equivalent with its closest allies and partners.

Mr. Carter welcomed India’s membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime and assured the US support for India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

The Minister and the Secretary also discussed cooperation on capabilities to increase India’s capacity for maritime domain awareness, but surprisingly, there was no mention of India’s request for Predator drones for this purpose.

The designation of major defence partner allows defence trade and technology-sharing of a higher grade, Mr. Carter said. The designation also supported the two "important handshakes" between the two nations.

 The first handshake is strategic, as the US rebalances to the Asia-Pacific, and India extends its reach towards east, in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The second handshake is technological and is demonstrated in the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative, said Mr. Carter.