The key to US-India partnership: Defence and technology cooperation

Source: This post is based on the article “The key to US-India partnership: Defence and technology cooperation” published in the Indian Express on 25th July 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Relevance: About the India-US relations.

News: To improve India-US relations, the recently concluded India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue recognised closer cooperation in scientific research and critical emerging technologies.

About the present political scenario

The 21st century is a bipolar era dominated by the US and China.

Status of China: China is now home to a manufacturing-led and technology-driven economy, competing head-on with the US in areas like biotech, robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced materials.

Status of India: India’s consistent commitment and concerted policy action focused on building domestic capabilities in critical technologies, key manufacturing industries and pursuing important structural economic reforms has started yielding results. The possibility of India’s continuing rise over this century seems to be stronger.

Hence, Asia might once again take its place as the geo-economic epicentre of the world.

What is the present approach of India-US on China?

India: India once welcomed Chinese involvement in its economy, has recalibrated after the 2020 Galwan face-off.

The US: The US once see non-democratic China as a benign partner, has now sees it as a threat.

According to the former Foreign Secretary, unlike India and the US, which are both well-established republics with deep democratic cultures, China is “a party with a state attached to it.” At present, India and the US are natural allies to confront the challenges posed by an expansionist and aggressive China in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Why does the US want to engage with India more?

1) India is not a part of the geopolitical and cultural West yet is “westernised” enough to be comfortable in that bloc, 2) Unlike some other countries in the Indian Subcontinent, India never has been nor will be anybody’s servant, 3) Demographic and economic trends position India as a global force that will have the weight to stride alongside America and China.

How to improve India-US relations?

a) Beyond the consumer tech and software sectors, both countries should broaden the technology collaboration in areas like artificial intelligence, drones, advanced materials, space technology, semiconductors, and biotech.

b) India and the US should be closely aligned in addressing the threat posed by an authoritarian China.

The combined financial firepower, human capital, and technology prowess available between the India and US would place the world safer. So, the India-US partnership is not a convenience but a necessity for the new multipolar world order.