Recalibrating the India-US relationship

Context: The Russia-Ukraine conflict caught India unprepared, like in the case of Chinese incursions in Eastern Ladakh two years ago. It has also put it into an uncomfortable defensive posture.

Has India’s position changed on Russia-Ukraine conflict?

India’s position on the war has shifted considerably in the past couple of months as Russia’s actions and its unjustified war became more and more tough to defend in the civilised world.

Its latest abstention in the UN, was essentially a vote against Russia.

India’s deep unhappiness and opposition to the Russian action was conveyed in clear language to Sergey Lavrov last week.

How will India-US relationship will be affected?

Despite US President describing India as being “somewhat shaky”, at its core Indian and US interests remain as aligned as before.

For all of India’s Russia “support”, there is a growing realisation that Russia has driven itself into becoming China’s junior partner for the foreseeable future. China won’t dump Russia because they share the same adversary, the US.

What is the way forward?

Nevertheless, it should be a matter of considerable concern that India pays the highest price when the US shoots down its enemies (Iran, Russia sanctions), or scoots from them (Afghanistan). Not only in economic and GDP terms, but in strategic areas as well. Somebody in the establishment needs to do a serious risk assessment of India’s international exposure, mapping out crises coming down the road.

India and the US need to dig deep into possibly the most important relationship –

– A good start would be to give India entry into the AUKUS technology partnership.

India and US should both understand that China is the real challenge.

Source: This post is based on the article “Recalibrating the India-US relationship” published in The Times of India on 11th Apr 22.