New Delhi/Moscow: Russia has okayed a Joint Military Deployments agreement with India, which is essentially a Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics (RELOS) deal, that they’ve been negotiating for the past few years.
According to Sputnik, the agreement is for the procedure for mutual dispatch of military formations, warships and military aircraft of the Russian Federation and India. The relevant order was posted on the website of the official publication of legal acts.
The draft agreement was developed by the Ministry of Defence, coordinated with the Russian Foreign Ministry and other federal authorities, and preliminarily worked out with the Indian side.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the Russian Defence Ministry to hold talks with India on a draft agreement on the procedure for mutual deployment of military formations.
“The agreement aims to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles when our or Indian military assets are deployed for joint exercises or operations,” Dr. Alexey Kupriyanov, Head of the Group on South Asia and Indian Ocean at the Center for Asia Pacific Studies, told Sputnik.
He added that the document legally formalises the procedures necessary for such deployments, emphasizing its continuity with past agreements which are typically renewed every five years.
“The main update in this agreement is the inclusion of passport and visa controls for military personnel, which were previously exempt,” Dr. Kupriyanov noted.
Stanislav Tarasov, a political analyst specializing in the Middle East and Caucasus regions, views the agreement in the broader context of Eurasian security.
“This agreement is part of creating a pan-Eurasian security framework. It aligns with the North-South Corridor project, which involves countries like India, Pakistan, China, and Iran, among others. The project aims to enhance connectivity and economic cooperation, necessitating a unified security strategy,” Tarasov told Sputnik India.
The formalisation of this military cooperation agreement is a clear message to the international community about the strengthening Russia-India partnership.
“Given the unprecedented pressure exerted on the entire world by the countries of the NATO bloc, this is a demonstration of disagreement with such actions. If the alliance between China and Russia is obvious to everyone, the confirmation of India’s consent to continue co-operation and the re-signing of the agreement is also a kind of demonstration of this state’s position in terms of Russia’s policy,” Nikolai Kostikin, an expert of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis told Sputnik India.
Overall, the Russia-India military deployment agreement not only strengthens bilateral defense ties but also enhances regional security dynamics, while signalling to the entire world the unwavering friendship between both countries.
The move immediately follows the Russian-North Korean mutual defense pact as well as Russia and Vietnam reaffirming the strength of their strategic partnership by pledging not to enter into any agreements with anyone else that could pose a threat to the other’s interests. These two alliances, the first formal and the second unofficial, are now followed by Russia’s JMD pact with India, which is part of recalibration of Moscow’s Asian strategy.
