idrw blog overdid it.
INDIA, US MAY ALLOW EACH OTHER USE OF MILITARY BASES FOR REFUELING
Saturday, 24 January 2015 | PNS | New Delhi
India and the US
may allow their warships and fighter planes to refuel at each other’s military bases under the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA). This pact is hanging fire for the last seven to eight years as the previous UPA Government was wary of political backlash if the strategically sensitive pact was inked.
The LSA, along with two other critical pacts like Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISOMA) and Basic Exchange and Co-Operation Agreement (BECA) for geo-spatial co-operation, are likely to be included in the new ten-year Defence Framework Agreement to be signed during President Barack Obama’s visit to New Delhi over the coming week-end.
The inclusion of LSA, CISMOA and BEKA in the Framework Agreement means that the two countries are giving political direction to the bureaucracy to hasten the process of resolving contentious issues in the proposed pacts, sources said. The two countries have held several rounds of parleys to ink the LSA over the last eight years but no progress was made given political situation in India.
The US has similar agreement with more than 80 countries, including neighbouring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, besides Thailand to use their bases for refueling US warships and US Air Force planes.
However, the UPA dithered over going ahead with the LSA due to strong reservations by the Left parties, sources said. Moreover, possible negative reaction by its most trusted ally Russia besides China against any move by India to give a foothold to the US in the Indian Ocean region and Indian sub-continent through use of Indian bases through a formal pact was the other reason for keeping the LSA on backburner, they said. Incidentally, US transport planes had refueled at Mumbai during the first Gulf War in 1990 during the Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s regime.
In the run-up to Obama’s visit, both the countries, meanwhile, held intense discussions on LSA, CISMOA and BEKA with the US urging India to consider the agreements by including it in the overarching Defence Framework Agreement. Then Defence Minister Pranab Mukhjeree had signed the first ten-year Framework Pact in 2005 and the NDA Government will go ahead with it by renewing the Agreement for another ten years. Besides including LSA, CISMOA and BEKA, the Framework Agreement will also ensure more robust Defence ties between the two countries through regular joint military exercises and exchange programme for Services officers of two nations.
As regards CISMOA, India wants a firm commitment by the US for access to latest space based communication technology. This pact entails that an Indian fighter plane or warship can communicate with the US plane or ship through shared communication systems through satellite. While the US so far has not committed to do so in several discussions over the last five years, Washington is urging New Delhi to at least hold a structured dialogue under the new Framework Agreement, sources said.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-...ther-use-of-military-bases-for-refueling.html