India becomes the US' top military exercise partner

India has conducted more military exercises and personnel exchanges with the US than any other country, including the NATO countries.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

India is now the leading military partner of the United States, conducting more military exercises and personnel exchanges than any other country around the world, including the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. The US Congressional Research Service recently communicated this to the US Congress.

The coming together of these two nations gained pace when Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister in May 2014, which was followed by signing of key defence agreements, such as the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018 and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) that was signed in October 2020, which facilitated closer military cooperation. PM Modi is on a three-day tour of the US beginning 21 September.

This development is being described by strategic watchers as testimony to the level of confidence that the Pentagon enjoys vis-à-vis the US State Department, which, time and again, has been accused of meddling in other countries’ internal affairs. Experts say that the engagement of the Pentagon, with a budget of almost $800 billion, with any country should be seen as the true barometer of the bilateral ties, rather than the shenanigans of the State Department, whose annual budget is just $35 billion.