India-US 2+2 Dialogue: Landmark defence pact COMCASA inked; H1B discussed Reflecting growing congruence in ties, India and the US Thursday signed a landmark security pact COMCASA, decided to set up hotlines between their defence and foreign ministers. The Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed between the two sides. In the first edition of the two-plus-two talks, the two sides also discussed cross-border terrorism, India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the contentious H1B visa issue, and ways to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

A military-information sharing pact, which will give India access to the US technology to keep an eye on China and the neighbourhood, was signed at the 2+2 bilateral summit, with officials saying that adequate safeguards have been put in place to ensure security interests.Among other things, it was decided to conduct a new tri-Services joint exercise on the eastern coast next year. Also, a new pact was signed for cooperation between the defence innovation organisations of the two nations.The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement ( Comcasa ), which will give India access to advanced new defence systems like armed drones and will enable the armed forces to exploit existing US-origin platforms much more efficiently, was inked after concerns on security raised by New Delhi were addressed and specific assurances given that there would be no disruptions even if ties take a dive.A senior official said instead of the generic agreement that the US has signed with its key partners, the Comcasa is an India-specific agreement in which ‘certain legal arrangements’ have been added to safeguard interests. These include an assurance that full access will be maintained for all equipment supplied by the US and that it would not disrupt communic ations or shut the systems down without an advance notice of at least six months. The US has also agreed that no information obtained by it from Indian platforms equipped with Comcasa-compliant systems will be shared with a third party without consent.The pact will pave the way for fitting special communications systems on Indian platforms like the C130J and the Naval P8I aircraft that will enable them to interact with the US military. For example, a US ship that would have picked up a Chinese submarine movement near the Malacca Strait would be able to transfer information like its speed, location and direction to the Indian Navy in real time. Beyond that, in case India acquires armed drones from the US, the agreement will give the two nations the ability to share targeted information —say, a live satellite feed that is monitoring a terrorist leader’s convoy in a third nation.Currently, even when the two nations meet for a naval wargame, special communication systems are temporarily placed on Indian warships to enable them to ‘talk’ to their US counterparts. A key concern on the Indian side, however, was that as communication works two ways, the US would also be able to track the movements, position and deployment patterns of all its US-origin military equipment. An assurance has been given that the US would not share any such information with a third nation.The pact, which will be valid for 10 years, however does not commit India to any acquisition from the US. “This is an enabling agreement and does not commit us to any acquisition,” a senior official said.