NEW DELHI: Military officials in New Delhi said that India is reluctant to sign Communication and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) with the United States because of its concern that Washington can listen in on military operations where both countries’ interests may not coincide— such as against arch-rival Pakistan.
The agreement is part of the Trump administration’s new policy towards India which called for a “free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific” relations.
Describing the Indian and Pacific Oceans as a “single strategic arena”, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described India and the United States as regional “bookends”.
Captain Gurpreet Khurana, executive director at the government-funded National Maritime Foundation, told Reuters that India’s underlying concern was having its autonomy constrained by binding its military into US codes and operating procedures.
Once, the Americans proposed a portable “suitcase” communications system called the CENTRIXS which could transmit full situational awareness data to Indian ships while the two navies practised together. India refused to allow it to be plugged in for the duration of the exercise, citing operational security, according to an Indian source briefed on the planning of the exercises.
Even the joint air exercises that the two countries are conducting as a follow-on to Malabar are severely restricted, the source said.
India sends its Russian-acquired Sukhoi jets to the drills, but their radars and jammers are turned off.
David Shear, who served as Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asia under President Barack Obama, said US forces, particularly the Navy, were well aware of the interoperability constraints to interacting with India.
“They understand what the obstacles are and that this is going to be a long-term project,” he said.