US, India defence deal will have ‘serious repercussions,’ warns Pakistan
- US and India have signed an agreement called Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement.
Taking note of the recent pact between the US and India, Pakistan has said that India’s massive acquisition of armaments and expansion of its nuclear forces will have 'serious repercussions for peace and stability in South Asia'.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper arrived in India where they held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The two sides signed an agreement called Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA). This will enable India to access precision topographical, nautical and aeronautical data and topographical images from US military satellites on a real time basis. The data could be used for missiles and armed drones and will improve the performance of Indian missiles.
Terming the pact a 'significant milestone', Esper said this agreement would foster cooperation between the militaries of US and India.
Following the agreement, the Foreign Office (FO) in a statement said that Pakistan has been continuously highlighting the threats posed to South Asia as a result of 'provision of advanced military hardware, technologies and knowledge to India'.
The FO said the recent rate of missile tests conducted by India is yet another manifestation of the country's dangerous conventional and nuclear military build-ups.
"It again corroborates concerns expressed by several international experts on the military spin-offs of conducting high technology trade with India, which has not only eroded the international norms but has also resulted in negatively affecting the strategic stability in South Asia," FO statement said.
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