India and the United States have signed a major logistics exchange agreement that will give a further push to bilateral Defense ties and enable the two militaries benefit from reciprocal logistic support during port visits, joint exercises, training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (lEMOA), as it is called, was signed here on Monday in the wake of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s discussions with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at the Pentagon.
A joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides welcomed the pact, saying it will “facilitate additional opportunities for practical engagement and exchange”.
Parrikar, however, clarified at a news conference later that the new pact has nothing to do with setting up any military base. “There is no provision for any base or any sort of activities to set up a base in India,” he said while replying to a question.
“It’s basically logistics support to each other’s fleet, like supply of fuel, supply of many other things which are required for joint operations, humanitarian assistance and many other relief operations.
So, it basically will ensure that both navies can be supportive of each other in the joint operations we do, exercises we do,” the Defence Minister said.
Carter for his part also sought to make it clear that lEMOA is “not a basing agreement of any kind”, but one that makes “logistics of joint operations so much easier and so much more efficient”. He termed it a mutually beneficial pact that grants both militaries equal access and ease.
Setting out the details, the Indian Defence Ministry also made it clear in a news release that lEMOA “does not provide for the establishment of any bases or basing arrangements”. Nor does it create “any obligations on either party to carry out any joint activity”. The pact, according to it, will significantly enhance the operational capacity of Indian Armed Forces, including in their response to humanitarian crises or disaster relief.
“lEMOA is a facilitating agreement that establishes terms, conditions, procedures for reciprocal provision of logistic support, supplies, service between the armed forces of India and the United States….Reciprocal logistic support would be used exclusively in port visits, joint exercises, joint training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts,” it said.
The logistic support, supplies and services include food, water, billeting, transportation, petroleum, oils, lubricants, clothing, communication services, medical services, storage services, training services, spare parts and components, repair and maintenance services, calibration services and port services.
“logistics support for any other cooperative efforts shall only be provided on a case-by-case basis through prior mutual consent of the Parties, consistent with their respective laws, regulations and policies,” the Defence Ministry said, noting that provisions between the two would be in return for cash payment or on reciprocal basis.
Discussing the “Major Defense Partner” designation that the US decided to accord to India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in June, Carter and Parrikar agreed on the importance this framework will provide to facilitate innovative and advanced opportunities in defence technology and trade cooperation.
“To this end, the United States has agreed to elevate defense trade and technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with its closest allies and partners,” it noted.
Carter called the designation “a very substantial change” from 50 years of history and “a very substantial advance over just a few months ago”, adding it will allow the US and India to cooperate in a way that “we (from the US viewpoint) do only with our closest and most long-standing allies”.
At their meeting, Carter also welcomed India’s membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and reaffirmed US support for India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The two Ministers also noted the signing of an information exchange annex under the framework of the Aircraft Carrier Joint Working Group. Secretary Carter and Minister Parrikar also agreed to continue to their close consultation on “Make in India” proposals.
The two sides also discussed cooperation on capabilities to augment India’s capacity for maritime domain awareness (MDA). The US acknowledged India’s “positive contributions” to regional security and stability, including in matters beyond the maritime space.