Question:India has joined which of the following defence pacts with US to obtain cutting-edge weapons and communications systems from the US
(1) Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement .
(2) Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation.
(3) Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement.
Which is/are correct?
(a)1 and 2
(b)2 and 3
(c)1 and 3
(d)1,2 and 3
Answer:(c)
- Context:
- The United States will not change its position on putting sanctions against India under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act(CAATSA) for buying fighter jets from Russia.
- Facts:
- CAATSA: It is a US federal law enacted in 2017 to impose sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia.
- The Act empowers the US President to impose sanctions against countries that engage in a significant transaction with Russian defence and intelligence sectors.
- Concerns: India could face US sanctions for purchasing high-value military defense items, in particular the S-400 Triumf missile defense system from Russia under the act.
- Additional Facts:
- S-400: It is an advanced air defence system that can simultaneously track numerous incoming objects — all kinds of aircraft, missiles and UAVs in a radius of a few hundred kilometres and launch appropriate missiles to neutralise them.
- India has signed the COMCASA, or Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement,Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the US. LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA, or Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation, are the three foundational defence pacts that a country needs to sign to obtain cutting-edge weapons and communications systems from the US. India hopes to move ahead on BECA too in near future.
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