Vishabjeet Singh
The prevailing world-order plays an active part in the unfolding of ties between any two states in the world. The trajectory of the Indo-US relationship may be seen through this lens. For the major part of the post-war (World War II) period, the relationship between the two countries was marked by distrust and estrangement. It was only after the demise of the Soviet Union that the ties between the two countries started showing green shoots. The relationship witnessed an exponential growth beginning from the second half of the first decade of the 21st century. Today, both the countries are strategic partners and share a warm relationship across a wide range areas, including, defence, economic, political, technological, space, etc.
Almost, seven decades ago, Prime Minister Nehru paid a visit to the US, in a world which was characterised by the Cold war divisions. This visit, in a way, proved very crucial in setting the tone for the unfolding of the bilateral relations throughout the Cold War period. The end of the Cold War ushered a new era in the Indo-US relations. India now faced with a changed world order had to forge closer ties with the sole superpower in the altered global order.
Both the countries now need to engage each other more firmly in the face of an changing global order, which is witnessing the rise of new fault lines and alliances. It becomes imperative for both the countries to bring synergy and coordination in their efforts aimed at shared threats and opportunities. As far as India is concerned, the continuing tensions and standoff at the border with China, gives it ample reasons to boost its defence preparedness. Owing to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war and the resultant sanctions upon the latter, India is little hesitant to go for any Russian defence platform. On the other hand, India is looking towards the West, and particularly the US to get hold of critical high-end technology for its defence sector. Recently, both the countries launched Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which will be a crucial step towards strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries. India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval recently noted that, “iCET is not a government to government arrangement alone, but a collaborative initiative of industry, academia, research bodies and think tanks, all making a common endeavour to see Inida and US in a higher orbit, an orbital jump to our strategic relations, where we are able to build technology capabilities and exploit opportunities”. His counterpart, Jake Sullivan during his recent visit to India asserted that, “The US and India are poised to lead in clean energy transformation, shore up and diversify global semi-conductor supply chains and supply chain in other critical goods, and lead the revolution in AI, advanced computing, biotech and quantum.”
India also hosted Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defence, in early June, 2023, whose visit underlined importance the US attaches to India as its major defence partner and to press forward collaboration in critical areas. His visit occasioned the signing of an agreement on plan for cooperation in area of defence technology, as a part of iCET framework. It stressed upon the need to boost defence manufacturing in India through technology sharing. This will aid India in reducing its dependence upon other countries for its defence platforms. As far as the US is concerned, it broader aim is to deepen its engagement with India in order to keep a check upon China. The US considers it defence engagement with India as the cornerstone of its strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
The back to back visits of the members of the Biden Administration are also aimed at preparing the ground for the June 22 state visit of the Prime Minister of India, which could witness the announcement of some major agreements regarding the defence sector.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
