After years of delays, India has finally signed the fourth and the final of the foundational accords of the US – the (BECA) Basic Exchange & Cooperation Agreement on geo-spatial cooperation considered an important milestone in the defense and strategic relations between the two countries. Defense experts however have warned that the BECA Agreement will enable the Pentagon to tweak data and misdirect Indian missiles for vested interests giving up control over India’s Cruise Missile Command Systems.
Spatial data is information that comes with or revolves around a specific geographical location anywhere around or outside the Earth. Strategic experts claim the signing of BECA will allow the US to share sensitive satellite and sensory data that would help India in striking military targets with pinpoint accuracy using its missiles.
The signing of BECA for the co-sharing of geo-spatial data will further firm up India’s bid to acquire armed drones that use location-sensitive information for targeted strikes on enemies. This agreement will mark the final one of three military communication foundational agreements between India and the US.
With the two previously signed military communication deals – Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) – the countries are allowed to use each other’s designated military facilities for re-fuelling and replenishment, and share important military information from the Indo-Pacific region.
However, former Indian Army official and author of several books on modern warfare, Pravin Sawhney, claims that the Americans will be able to control India’s strategic assets including cruise and ballistic missile once these agreements cumulatively come into force.