LSA

As part of the U.S.’ diplomatic efforts, senior American officials have been wooing New Delhi for the last eight years. Barack Obama is the first serving U.S. President to visit the country twice. After the signing of the LSA, Carter said in New Delhi that the militaries of the two countries had become closer than ever before. The U.S.-India relationship was destined to be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century, he said.

The previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had laid the groundwork for the close military and strategic relationship that now exists between the two countries by entering into a “global strategic partnership” with the U.S.

The CPI(M) said that the NDA government should have taken Parliament into its confidence before taking such an important step in regard to “such critical policy matters”. The U.S. has only signed LSA-type agreements with close allies like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. The party has warned that the terms of the LSA would see the stationing of American troops on Indian soil on a regular basis. “Along with this agreement, the Defence Minister has indicated that two other agreements are on the anvil. This will make Indian armed forces command and control structure integrated with the U.S. armed forces,” 

In 2012, it also signed a Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) agreement with the U.S. aimed at co-producing advanced weapons systems. Washington’s goal was to cash in on the lucrative arms purchase and modernisation spree of the Indian armed forces and also, importantly, to make the Indian military interoperable with the American military and dependent on U.S. technology and supplies. The U.S. is likely to emerge as India’s top defence partner in a few years. It now holds the most number of annual military exercises with India.

If the NDA government actually goes ahead and initials the LSA and the two other agreements with the U.S., the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which has over a hundred members, will have reason to question India’s credentials as a leader of the movement. China, too, will be expected to take adequate retaliatory action as the U.S. finds success in patching up a grand coalition of countries against it in the Asia-Pacific region. Many Indian security experts as well as political commentators have been warning that signing these agreements would mean the end of the “strategic autonomy” that the Indian government has in foreign affairs and defence matters. Russia, with which the U.S. has a tense and adversarial relationship these days, will also not take kindly to these new developments in the Indian subcontinent.

During Obama’s India visit last year, Modi committed to deeper military integration with the U.S. as outlined in the U.S.-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean region statement that was released. Modi’s “Act East Policy” is becoming convergent with the Obama administration’s “pivot to the East”. In his speech in New Delhi, Carter highlighted this strategic convergence between India’s “Act East” policy and the Obama administration’s “rebalancing to the East” policy