<p style=”text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>SOURCE – INIDAN EXPRESS</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>GS PAPER – 2</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>CONTEXT</span></span></span></b><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”> – India and the US are preparing for the third 2+2 ministerial meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark T Esper in New Delhi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>KEY HIGHLIGHJTS</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>One of the items on the agenda will be the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) — a pact with deep military implications</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>Signing BECA will allow India to use the US’s advanced geospatial intelligence and enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones. It will give access to topographical and aeronautical data and products that will aid navigation and targeting</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:25.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>This could be key for Air Force-to-Air Force cooperation. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<p style=”margin-left:48px”><span style=”font-size:12pt”><span style=”line-height:14.0pt”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><strong><span style=”border:none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; padding:0in”><span style=”color:black”>What is BECA?</span></span></strong></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style=”margin-left:48px”><span style=”font-size:12pt”><span style=”line-height:150%”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement largely pertains to geospatial intelligence, and sharing information on maps and satellite images for defence. According to officials, anyone who sails a ship, flies an aircraft, fights wars, locates targets, responds to natural disasters, or even navigates with a cellphone relies on geospatial intelligence.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style=”margin-left:48px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:150%”><span style=”vertical-align:baseline”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”line-height:150%”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”>LEMOA:</span></span></span></span></b><span style=”font-size:12.0pt”><span style=”line-height:150%”><span style=”font-family:"Cambria","serif"”><span style=”color:black”> The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement was signed between India and the US in August 2016. It allows the military of each country to replenish from the other’s bases: access supplies, spare parts and services from the other country’s land facilities, air bases, and ports, which can then be reimbursed. This is extremely useful for Navy-to-Navy cooperation, since the US and India are cooperating closely in the Indo-Pacific.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>