The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement or BECA was signed on Tuesday as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the third edition of the 2+2 talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper, in New Delhi. The signing of BECA with the US is a "significant" move, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said as he briefed the press after the high-level talks held at Hyderabad House in the national capital. The agreement gives India access to classified geo-spatial data as well as critical information. The signing of the long-negotiated defence pact comes in the backdrop of India's tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.