India-US defence pacts: What’s SOSA and RDP Agreement?

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was in the US on a four-day official visit to further boost the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the US and India.

In a bid to enhance their defence cooperation, India and USA recently signed two critical agreements: the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Assignment of Liaison Officers.

According to reports, the two nations agreed to advance priority co-production projects under the 2023 US-India Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent visit to the USA.

What is SOSA?

The Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) is a key agreement that the United States has signed with 18 other nations, including several non-NATO allies. India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US. Under the pact, the US and India will provide reciprocal priority support to each other for goods and services that promote national defence.

It is aimed at ensuring that each country can maintain the necessary supply chain resilience in times of need. This will mean US defence contractors can request expedited delivery of goods produced in India, and vice versa. SOSA is not legally binding and will operate on the principle of goodwill between India and the USA. Indian companies which will agree to participate in SOSA must make an effort to prioritise orders from the USA. In turn, the USA will provide assurances under its Defence Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), managed by the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Department of Commerce (DOC).

What is an RDP Agreement?

The DoD has been working to conclude another agreement with India, the Reciprocal Defence Procurement (RDP) Agreement. These agreements are aimed at promoting rationalisation, standardisation, interchangeability, and interoperability of conventional defence equipment with US allies and other friendly governments. Till now, the US has signed RDP Agreements with 28 countries.

The RDP agreement would help US companies to bypass certain domestic procurement restrictions, like India’s “Make in India” initiative. This will, in turn, allow them to set up manufacturing bases in India and collaborate more closely with local firms.

SOSA versus RDP

Both SOSA and RDP are aimed at strengthening defence ties between the two nations. However, they serve different purposes. SOSA is more about ensuring the smooth functioning of the defence supply chain during crises while RDP is a legally binding agreement that makes prioritisation of defence orders mandatory. This paves the way for more extensive joint production and technological collaboration.

MoU on Liaison officers

It is a progression on an earlier decision to increase information-sharing between India and the US. It also involves posting Indian armed forces officers in key strategic US Commands. India will deploy the first Liaison Officer to the US Special Operations Command headquarters in Florida.

Indian and US vision for bilateral defence cooperation was encapsulated in the September 2013 Joint US-India Declaration on Defence Cooperation and the 2015 Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship.