US will benefit more from maintaining close ties with India
By Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Veteran
US National Security Advisor Shri Jake Sullivan recently visited India, to meet National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Shri Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Though a part of the outgoing US Administration, he was still given audience by the PM too. Sullivan also delivered a speech at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
The US media gave a wide coverage of Sullivan’s visit to India knowing quite well that Sullivan’s visit was not given any importance by New Delhi. It was more of a courtesy farewell visit prior to leaving office.
Still US media outlets focused on how the Joe Biden administration has continued to leverage India to contain China. Though Biden and his team were well aware that India was no lackey nor a military partner but followed its own independent policies.
India has no desire to contain China but at the sametime will not tolerate any nonsense on territorial matters or now even on Tibet.
Clearly, this was a farewell visit by a senior official of the Biden administration before the transition of new presidency.
According to the White House, Sullivan’s visit primarily focused on discussing a series of issues related to the US-India partnership, including cooperation on space, defence and strategic technologies, as well as shared security priorities in the “Indo-Pacific” and other regions.
Well these are the key areas where the two countries will obviously be interacting even when Trump takes over. India is now a rising Space and military power and interaction will benefit both.
The mind boggling cost of NASA’s next Mangal and Chandrama missions will come down drastically if they collaborate with ISRO.
Sullivan’s visit, coming after Jaishankar’s trip to the US in late December makes not much of a sense except underscores concerns on part of Democrats regarding the US-India relationship after the US leadership change.
If Jaishankar’s visit to Washington aimed to gauge the incoming US administration’s stance,Sullivan’s task was to ensure that the framework of US-India cooperation established under the Biden administration could continue under the new administration.
Indian leaders do not seem overly concerned that the Quad or the “Indo-Pacific Strategy” will be abandoned under the incoming US administration.
India is now in a position to look after its own interests in the Indo Pacific. As it is, the QUAD etc initiatives were originally revived by the Trump administration only in 2017 and were merely inherited and upgraded by Biden.
India is also not much concerned that iCET might be discontinued or interrupted because under PM Modi, India has made many major breakthroughs in high-tech strategic fields ranging from artificial intelligence and quantum computing to semiconductors and space.
These areas of cooperation in fact may be more beneficial and help the Trump administration’s “America First” ideology. As it is India’s taking delivery of a Russian made warships and S-400 air defence systems, to be delivered in 2025, has never been liked by the USA but it cannot do anything about it.
In fact there is a likelihood of Russian SU57 TRUMPING American F35 in the MMRCA deal !! Some analyst believe that Trump may provoked and in anger it is possible that the Trump administration could use the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to cancel India’s previous defense contracts with the Biden administration and dismantle iCET.
We it will be most foolish action on the part of the Americans.In the past, India has adopted a multi-pronged approach to military procurement. Getting in the iCET as proposed by the Biden administration was just a new opportunity for India.
The US technology system can noway “lock” India from a long-term strategic perspective, replacing or excluding Russian / France / Israel from India’s defence cooperation. India is now the fourth Pole of the multipolar Geopolitics.
The Modi admiration gone full blast to become Self reliant through indigenous efforts and technological cooperation from others.
Jaishankar publicly stated in November 2024 that India is not among the countries that are “nervous” about Trump returning to the White House. India is not concerned even about the possibility of a “reconciliation” between China and the US.
Rather this will be welcomed.Jaishankar visited Washington to “test the waters” of the new Administration.
In late December 2024, he met with Michael Waltz, Trump’s nominee for National Security Adviser, and made various remarks to reassure the US.
Jaishankar’s display of Indian posture should be food for thought for the incoming Trump administration. The US president-elect has already signalled his intention to impose a 10 percent across-the-board tariff.
Well India knows how to react to such things or rather may act first also. Though during Biden’s tenure, India’s trade surplus with the US continued to grow.
A stricter immigration policies under the incoming Trump administration may make it more difficult for Indian tech professionals to obtain non-immigrant work visas for the US.
However here USA will be the clear loser. By now even Trump knows the benefit of having Indian tech professionals working in USA.
Sullivan’s visit is clearly aimed at cajoling India to maintain the framework of the US-India established by the Biden administration.
