India and the US have agreed “in principle” to a logistics exchange agreement to enable both militaries to use each other’s assets and bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, an issue which did not find favour with the previous UPA government. Ramping up bilateral defence ties, both sides agreed to set up a new bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue between officials from their respective defence and foreign affairs ministries.

This came as India and the US emphasised on freedom of navigation and need for international based order, in an apparent reference to China’s assertiveness in South China Sea.

On growing Indo-US military exchanges, Parrikar said, “As our engagement deepens, we need to develop practical mechanisms to facilitate such exchanges. In this context, Secretary Carter and I agreed in principle to conclude a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in the coming months.”

LEMOA is a tweaked version of Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) which facilitates the provision of logistical support, supplies and services between the US military and the armed forces of partner countries on a reimbursable basis, and provides a framework that governs the exchange of logistics support, supplies and services.

Explaining the proposed agreement, Parrikar said it will enable India and the US to provide logistics and other support to each other whenever needed during operations like the humanitarian exercise done in wake of the Nepal earthquake.