Sunday, August 28, 2016

The Backbone of Joint Operations

India and America aren't military allies despite having a common potential foe in China. But we will be able to resupply each other now. Which is a start.

India and United States will sign an anticipated agreement on military logistics cooperation later this month during Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar’s scheduled visit to the United States. ...

The agreement, which was first mooted in the early 2000s, will enable reciprocal access to and reimbursement for supplies and services for each country’s armed forces. It is one of three so-called “foundational” agreements, along with the Communication and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

This logistics agreement will allow each nation to provide supplies to the other in a regular process rather than an ad hoc basis which slows things down.

I mentioned this pending agreement back in March.

While I'm sure we can make use of this given our forces swing between the western Pacific and the Middle East, I imagine India will be the largest beneficiary for their naval forces operating in the South China Sea.