Scope of India-US defence cooperation increased, purchase of defence

Washington: India has embarked on massive arms purchase to increase its level of defence preparedness because of the tension reigning with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. The US agencies informed that India purchased defence equipment worth a whopping USD 3.4 billion from the United States in this year. This defence equipment purchase is believed to be an indication of the increasing defence cooperation between India and the United States.

This year, India seems to have increased the weapons purchase from the United States. The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) noted that there was a significant increase in the Indian weapons purchase from the United States as compared to the last year. There is also a possibility of India purchasing surveillance or attack drones from the United States in the future. Therefore, the defence cooperation between the two countries clearly seems to be scaling new heights.

Talks are rife whether the India-US relations will see a decline after the end of the presidential tenure of Donald Trump. But President-Elect Joe Biden has put the worries to rest with his statement that India will have an important place in his policies. Analysts are inferring that taking into account the US policy for the Indo-Pacific region, this country will never make a mistake of ignoring relations with India.

The weapons and defence equipment manufacturing companies are looking at India as an important buyer. It has also been revealed that these companies are keen on setting up manufacturing facilities in India itself. In this scenario, confidence is being expressed that the India-US defence cooperation will become more comprehensive. At the same time, analysts believe that the effects of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), signed between the two countries, will the show results soon.