BECA, LEMOA and COMCASA

India and the United States agreed to sign the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) on October 27th. Along with the two previous agreements — the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA full form). It completes a troika of “foundational pacts” that can help during the deep military operations amongst the countries.

(Image Will be Uploaded Soon)

What is BECA?

• BECA will help India to gain real-time authority and access to the geospatial intelligence of America. This will improve the precision of automated systems and weaponry such as missiles and armed drones. In addition, it would enable India to access topographical and aeronautical data and sophisticated goods that will aid in navigation and targeting by exchanging information on maps and satellite pictures.

• This might be critical for India and the United States' air-to-air cooperation. BECA will provide the Indian military systems with high-quality GPS to navigate missiles with real-time intelligence to precisely target the adversary, just as your radio cab will assist you to inding your destination and reaching there quickly and efficiently.

• Aside from ship navigation, aircraft flight, warfighting, and target localisation, geospatial information is essential in response to natural catastrophes. BECA was signed as a result of the pledge made in a joint statement during President Donald Trump's visit in February of this year when the two sides indicated they hoped for an "early conclusion" of BECA.

What is the COMCASA Agreement?

COMCASA was signed in September 2018, following the first 2+2 discussion. Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister at the time, and Nirmala Sitharaman, the Defense Minister at that time,  met visiting Secretaries of State Michael R Pompeo and James N Mattis. It permits the US to give India encrypted communications equipment and systems, allowing Indian and US military leaders and their planes and ships to communicate over secure networks in both peace and conflict. To use another basic example, imagine exchanging messages or interacting with a buddy in real-time and in a safe manner using WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram.

The signing of the COMCASA agreement opened doors for communication security equipment supply from the United States to India to enable "interoperability" between their forces — and perhaps with another military that employs US-origin technology for secure data connections.

What do the Three Agreements Signify?

• In August 2016, LEMOA was the first of three pacts to be inked. This enables the United States and the military of India to refuel from one another's military bases and get supplies, spare parts, and services from each other's land facilities, air bases, and ports, which may subsequently be repaid.

• Because the two nations cooperate closely in the Indo-Pacific, the LEMOA agreement is highly helpful for India-US Navy-to-Navy cooperation. To put it simply, the utility of this arrangement is equivalent to being able to stop at a friend's garage or workshop to refuel or fix your automobile while you are far away from your own house or workshop.

• Mutual trust is a crucial component that underlies LEMOA. No government will be prepared to expose its military and strategic assets, such as warships, to another country's facilities without confidence.

• The signing of the LEMOA was an endorsement of the two militaries' mutual trust, and its implementation will strengthen that trust. It took nearly a decade to negotiate the LEMOA agreement, which closed the trust gap between India and the US and opened the path for the other two basic pacts.

• India has provided much logistical and other support to the military of the US. For example, they allowed American planes to land and refuel in Mumbai during the Gulf war. Similarly, they also allowed warships of the State to remain in the Indian ports when the 9/11 attacks were taking place. Therefore, LEMOA institutionalises and smoothens this entire process.

• As stated in the LEMOA, one partner trusts the other and is willing to disclose their precious assets to the other.

• One partner is confident enough, according to COMCASA, that it can trust encrypted technologies to connect the military of both nations.

• As a result of a third agreement, known as BECA, the highly secret information may be exchanged in real-time between the two countries without risk of data being compromised.

What is the Difference between BECA, LEMOA, and COMCASA?

In contrast to LEMOA, the COMCASA agreement signifies that one party is confident enough in the other to reveal its valuable assets. Still, LEMOA signifies that one partner is confident enough to trust the other to use encrypted systems to connect the two militaries. As for BECA, it allows governments to exchange highly secret information in real-time without risk of being compromised.

History of COMCASA and LEMOA:

• The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, or COMCASA, is one of four fundamental agreements between the United States and India. It was signed in September 2018 between the two countries.

• The agreement allows India to employ encrypted communications equipment and systems made available by the United States. As a result, Indian and US military leaders, aircraft, and ships may communicate over encrypted networks in both peace and conflict.

• In addition to the foregoing, it opened the way to transfer communication security equipment from the United States to India to enable interoperability.

• The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, or LEMOA, is one of three basic agreements between India and the United States. It was inked in August 2016 following a decade of negotiations between the two countries. It is the Indian variant of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA). The agreement allows both nations' militaries to utilise one other's bases for re-fuelling and resupply.

• This does not imply that the United States will post soldiers in India or vice versa. The arrangement is entirely logistical. The pact is beneficial for the two nations' Navy-to-Navy Cooperation and allows India to utilise a network of US facilities worldwide for logistical assistance. Similarly, the United States may gain from Indian infrastructure.

• Such agreements demonstrate mutual confidence and a commitment to long-term strategic collaboration. The US wants India to avoid using Russian equipment and platforms BECAuse it fears it may expose its technology and information to Moscow. So far, India has acquired Russia's S-400 air defence missile system, which has been a source of contention for American negotiators. India, for its part, is apprehensive of Pakistan's close relations with the Pentagon and Washington's reliance on Rawalpindi for access to Afghanistan and its departure strategy. If you are looking for the answer to the question: what is the difference between BECA LEMOA and COMCASA, you must go through the information mentioned above.