Indian Army vice-chief meets senior US Army official to discuss defence cooperation

In a bid to strengthen India-US military cooperation, Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen SK Saini visited US Army 25th Infantry Division Lightning Academy on October 20. After witnessing Jungle Training and Chinook Helicopter Sling Load Carriage, Lt Gen Saini interacted with the troops and met Maj Gen Ronald P. Clark, USINDOPACOM Chief of Staff, to discuss the US and Indian partnership in the region. Additional Directorate General of Public Information, Indian Army tweeted:

Lt Gen Saini is on a three-day visit to the US command to expand military cooperation between the two countries. The US Army 25th Infantry Division gave a sneak peek to the air assault in support of the visit of India’s Vice Chief of the Army Staff. It said that the Infantry Division is starting off the week with a “little partnership!”

The visit comes ahead of a scheduled two-plus-two dialogue where both countries will review their strategic cooperation extensively. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath will hold the 2+2 ministerial dialogue with their US counterparts. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper are set to visit India for the ministerial-level talks. 

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2+2 ministerial dialogue

Pompeo and Esper are expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the ministerial dialogue. Both India and the US have aggressively responded to China’s expansionist and coercive policies in the region, and are expected to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geo-spatial cooperation during 2+2 ministerial dialogue.

The signing of BECA will be a significant landmark in US-India strategic cooperation as it allows India to use global geospatial maps of the US for accuracy of stand-off weapons like cruise and ballistic missiles. According to news agency ANI, government sources said that the agreement will ensure that the armed forces of the two countries start talking to each other on enhancing geospatial cooperation

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