The desire of the political leadership of the two countries to build a strong relationship is based on regional, domestic, and strategic factors
The transformation of the India-US relationship from estranged democracies to a strategic partnership has been a defining movement of the 21st century, with the two countries having witnessed significant cooperation in several areas of common interests. While successive Indian Prime Ministers and US Presidents have played pivotal in cementing the ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden have also taken a slew of measures in this regard. Therefore, the upcoming state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US on June 21-24 is viewed as a historic movement in the relationship.
Modi will become the first Indian Prime Minister to address a joint session of the US Congress for a second time, reiterating to US leaders that a resurgent India is committed to working together with the United States in ensuring peace, security and development in South Asia and other parts of the globe. Undoubtedly, one of the major shifts that have been observed in the relationship is an unprecedented political willingness in both countries to engage each other. This can be gauged from regular interactions between the senior Indian and US political leaders on a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues.
Of course, the desire of the political leadership of the two countries to build a strong relationship has not developed in a vacuum. In fact, there is a milieu of structural, domestic, leadership and other drivers responsible for the transformational shift in bilateral ties.
One such driver is the shared security challenges facing New Delhi and Washington. There is a growing sentiment among US security officials and experts that, given its economic slowdown, its involvement in the Russian-Ukraine war, as well as security crises in the Indo – Pacific, the Middle East, and other regions, it is not possible for the United States alone to ensure peace and security. It needs to engage rising powers like India. As the Modi government has accelerated the process of military modernisation, buoyed by increased foreign direct investment in the defence sector, Washington sees economic opportunities in deepening defence ties with New Delhi. The rise of China and its assertive posturing in the South China Sea is another reason for the United States to expand its security and military relations with India. Washington also views India’s Act East policy as compatible with its Indo-Pacific strategy.
India is concerned by China’s position on disputed territories and by the growing nexus between Beijing and Islamabad. New Delhi feels that the presence of the United States in South Asia would help maintain the balance of power in its favour. The Modi government also knows it cannot aggressively pursue military modernisation without access to advanced US weaponry and technology. Modi’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative would also not be successful without the active participation of the American defence industry, given its expertise in the field. Isolating Pakistan internationally for failing to adequately address terrorism also requires New Delhi to sustain security talks and military exercises with Washington. The security concerns led India and the US to sign several key defence agreements including the Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMA), the Communication and Information Security Memorandum (CISMOA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA). With the aim of boosting technology cooperation, the two countries have also signed the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). This in turn will help in strengthening the innovation ecosystem, defence innovation &technology cooperation, resilient semiconductor supply chains, space, and next-generation telecommunication.
A roadmap for defence industry cooperation has also been signed between New Delhi and Washington early this month. The US policy towards Pakistan and terrorism has also undergone a marked shift to placate India’s security concerns. These developments in turn have also led to a sharp rise in India’s defence imports from the US from less than US$ 1 billion in 2008 to US$ 21 billion in 2021. The signing of an agreement between General Electric (GE) and Hindustan Aeronautics regarding the domestic manufacturing of American jet engines during Modi’s visit. This in turn will be a bone for the Make in India initiative. The two sides can also finalise a defence deal to buy 30 MQ-9 armed drones.
Economic interests are another driver of the relationship. While the volume of bilateral trade has reached US$ 190 billion, the two countries have set a goal of taking it to $500 billion in the next few years. For that to happen, the two countries have established an India-US Investment Initiative as well as an Infrastructure Collaboration Platform. Sure, the above account of encouraging trends however does not blind us to the challenges that the relationship has continued to face. The Biden administration’s reluctance to restore India’s status under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and the two countries divergent approaches in the agriculture and dairy sectors are a set of obstacles facing the relationship. The two sides also have differences in Myanmar, Iran, and Afghanistan. The US continues to feel uneasiness with the idea of India’s strategic autonomy. Thus, with the visit by Modi to Washington, one hopes that both countries would be able to address these issues to realise the full potential of the relationship.
(The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, the University of Delhi. Views are personal)
