India Is A Central Pillar Of US-Indo Pacific Strategy

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin바카라™s visit to India so early in his tenure is a clear indication of the importance the Biden presidency has placed on New Delhi바카라™s role as a partner in Asia. This was evident, when Secretary Austin said after his meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday : 바카라œ바카라¦And at the top of my agenda바카라¦ I wanted to convey the Biden-Harris administration바카라™s message of our strong commitment to our allies and partners바카라¦India, in particular, is an increasingly important partner amid today바카라™s rapidly shifting international dynamics. And I reaffirmed our commitment to a comprehensive and forward-looking defence partnership with India as a central pillar of our approach to the region. 바카라˜바카라™ He went on to say that 바카라œthe US-India relationship is a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.바카라™바카라™

That China is weighing heavily on the administration바카라™s mind is evident after President Joe Biden decided to make the Quad summit, which was held on March 12, his first major foreign policy event since taking office. Following the Quad meet at the highest political level, key administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin both held two plus two meetings in Tokyo and Seoul before the latter headed to Delhi. The obvious strategy is to shore up alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific front, where China poses both a military and an economic challenge to the United States and several Asian neighbours, including India.

Confronting China publicly much like what former president Donald Trump and his secretary of state Mile Pompeo did is likely to continue, as was evident from the fiery statements exchanged by Blinken and the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi in Alaska on Friday.

After landing in Delhi on Friday late afternoon, Austin called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and met with NSA Ajit Doval. Prime Minister Modi바카라™s office said in a statement that he 바카라œoutlined his vision for the strategic partnership between the two countries and the importance of bilateral defence co-operation.바카라™바카라™

Taking off on the PM바카라™s words, defence secretary Llyod Austin remarked: 바카라œPrime Minister Modi has stated that India stands for freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, and adherence to international law. This is a resounding affirmation of our shared vision for regional security in the Indo-Pacific바카라¦And it바카라™s clear that the importance of this partnership, and its impact to the international rules-based order will only grow in the years ahead.바카라™바카라™

With the China threat looming large across the 3488-kilometer Line of Actual Control, and the PLA바카라™s attempt to go back to its line of 1957, India-US defence ties are poised to take off. The American visitor spoke of it after his meeting with his Indian counterpart: 바카라œWe discussed opportunities to elevate the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership바카라¦ a priority of the Biden-Harris Administration바카라¦ through regional security cooperation, military-to-military interactions, and defense trade.바카라™바카라™ He also mentioned new areas of cooperation in information sharing, logistics cooperation, artificial intelligence as well as in issues of cyber space security. Without naming China, Austin said the Indo-Pacific region faces many problems like climate change and 바카라œchallenges to a free and open regional order, cooperation among like-minded countries is imperative to securing our shared vision for the future.바카라™바카라™

Rajnath Singh and Austin reviewed the entire range of defence issues, including joint exercises. China바카라™s aggressive behaviour not just in the Pacific waters but also the current situation in Ladakh must have been a part of the conversation. Singh certainly must have given him India바카라™s perspective on China바카라™s military action. The peace process in Afghanistan, where India is also now a part would have been on the table when the regional security situation was discussed. Pakistan and the tentative peace moves between the two traditional foes naturally came up, though no one is saying so publicly. Austin would certainly have encouraged the move.

Thanks to the asymmetry in India-China military capabilities, defence co-operation with the US is pivotal. The US can give Delhi a leg-up in modernising India바카라™s defence capabilities. With the signing of the four foundation defence agreements, the stage has been set for future co-operation.

Yet, despite the growing warmth in India-US ties and the many advantages relations with the only superpower brings to the table, New Delhi is not about to surrender its strategic autonomy to the US. Russia was once the only powerful friend Delhi could rely on when the US and its western allies had turned its back to India. Moscow has always been regarded as a trusted friend by India. Ties with the Kremlin have weakened considerably, but on certain issues, India will stand its ground. More so, when despite extreme pressure from the Trump administration, India went ahead and ordered the Russian made S-400 Triumf air defence systems for a cool $5.5 billion, in 2018. The Trump White House had slapped sanctions on Turkey for buying the same defence missile equipment from Russia but had not enforced it with India.

After Russia바카라™s annexation of Crimea, the US passed the Countering America바카라™s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), by which countries buying sophisticated Russian military equipment was to be slapped with sanctions. This act was passed by the US Congress and became operational in 2017. The issue of the missile defence system is certain to figure in the discussions whether it is mentioned publicly or not.

Now that US-Russia ties have slid to a low point, the Biden administration will do its best to stop this deal. But Prime Minister Modi who had given Vladimir Putin a commitment to buy the S-400 system, is unlikely to budge. It will be interesting to watch this play out. Despite the quad and multi-faceted ties with the US, India cannot be easily browbeaten to give up its strategic autonomy.