Journalism of Courage
India and the US have concluded the Industrial Security Annexe agreement, which will facilitate collaboration between defence industries by supporting the secure transfer of key information and technology.
At the second India-US 2+2 dialogue between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence minister Rajnath Singh with their American counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper in Washington DC, the US talked tough on Pakistan and both sides asked Islamabad to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action on fighting terror.
However, there was no forward movement on the trade deal.
After the talks, Singh said, “I’m happy that we have been able to sign the Industrial Security Annexe before the 2+2 Dialogue. We hope that this will enable a smooth transfer of classified technology and information between private entities of USA and India.”
A joint statement said the ministers welcomed the signing of the Industrial Security Annexe (ISA) which will facilitate the exchange of classified military information between Indian and the US defense industries. Both sides also “expressed intent to meet in 2020 to discuss ISA implementation”, it said.
On Pakistan, Pompeo said, “We understand the concerns, too, that India has, rightful concerns that they have about a terrorism emanating from Pakistan, and we assured them that we would take that into account.”
In response to a question, Pompeo said, “We have been unambiguous in our partnership with the Indian government about terror. Terror, from wherever it emanates, whether it’s from inside of Pakistan or from anyplace else. We are determined to protect the American people from the threat of terrorism and we’re determined to work with our great democratic friends like the Indians to protect the people of India as well, and we’ll continue to work on it.”
Jaishankar also underlined cross-border terrorism, as he said, “Our counter-terrorism effort was also discussed at today’s meeting. And it has been boosted by a growing consensus on the nature of terror threats in the region, and the dangers of cross-border terrorism and sanctuaries… We discussed ways to address these challenges, including by working closely, together at the FATF. We also took note of exchanges between our judicial academies for appreciation of challenges and evolving practices in adjudicating counter-terrorism cases, and agreed to further facilitate such exchanges in the areas of criminal jurisprudence.”
The US remained cautious in its position on the new citizenship law in India. Responding to a question, Pompeo said, “We care deeply and always will about protecting minorities and religious rights everywhere. We honour Indian democracy as they have a robust debate on the issue that you raised.”
Jaishankar, in his response, said, “The question that you asked relating to India, if you had followed the debate on that particular legislation carefully, you would see that it is a measure which is designed to address the needs of persecuted religious minorities from certain countries… If you look at what those countries are and therefore what their minorities are, perhaps you understand why certain religions were identified in terms of characterising those who had come across.”
