9th Sep 2018 09:09:PM Editorials
Eastern Sentinel Arunachal News

 
The signing of the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) with the US last week during the 2+2 talks, gives India a series of advantages. It allows the free flow of information with enormous strategic and security implications. But at the same time, it insulates India from data transfer and sharing without Washington’s consent. But most importantly this will enable Indian military to get a better picture of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) which is seeing increasing Chinese movements.  With COMCASA, Indian armed forces will get to fully exploit the capability of the military platforms procured from the US. For instance, the P-8I reconnaissance aircraft of the Navy which have emerged as a major force multiplier are currently operating at limited capacity. 
As a consequence, India will also get access to Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System or CENTRIXS for short which is the secure communication system network of the US. Navy ships with CENTRIXS systems on board can communicate securely with the US Navy when needed and can benefit from the wider situational picture of the region as they have a large number of ships and aircraft deployed. But there are also some pitfalls. There are persistent concerns that this would allow US Navy access to India’s own secure communication network and also that the information shared with the US will be accessible by Pakistan. 
Although the agreement is being interpreted as giving free access to India’s trade with other countries not on the US list of similar agreements, critics say that the agreement could jeopardise India’s established military ties with Russia and access to their weapons systems. New Delhi is hopeful that the US would exclude India from sanctions on acquiring S-400 missile systems from Russia. Though the COMCASA has no direct bearing on oil imports from Iran, the 2+2 strategic dialogue is expected to ease the Iran oil import restrictions. It may also be noted that talks for the COMCASA started way back in 2006 between President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It took almost 12 years to reach the agreement.


Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List