18 November 2022, NIICE Commentary 8406
Keshav Verma
The White House just published National Security Strategy 2022, which acknowledges the challenges after the end of the Cold War. The tactic highlights that the leading nations are vying for the right to influence the future. No country is better positioned to prevail in this race than the United States, provided it cooperates with those who support its vision of a free, accessible, safe, and prosperous world. The strategy also noted how, while rivalry is taking place, people are attempting to cope with the repercussions of global concerns that transcend national borders, environmental issues, food shortages, contagious diseases, transnational crime, resource scarcity, and inflation.
India’s development ambitions and strategic influence in the Indian Ocean and beyond may be guided by the US relationship. US and Indian governments have increased their commitment to the region. For instance, the US has initiated the second stage of its “rebalance plan” to re-establish its dominance in the Indo-Pacific. In 2014, India adopted its “Act East” strategy, an extension of its 1990s “Look East” policy, declaring the South-East India Ocean water lanes to the South and the East China Seas, the Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean, as well as their coastline, as areas of maritime interest. Therefore, it is good to think on the National Security Strategy 2022 and what it implies for New Delhi since India is a major actor in the Indo-Pacific and a major military partner of the United States.
Global Priorities and India
According to the National Security Strategy, Russia and China are the most significant strategic threats to the US interests. As its savage campaign of aggression against Ukraine has proven, Russia is called out as a pressing danger to the open and accessible world system. However, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the only rival with the will to change the global order and the growing military, economic, technical, and diplomatic to do so. Because of the PRC’s aggressive actions, several other nations have responded by asserting their independence. Due to several interdependencies in areas such as environment, commerce, and global health, the PRC maintains similar interests with other nations, particularly the United States.
Russian aggression in Ukraine has shown its strategic limitations. Moscow is interested in collaborating with countries that do not share its priorities, particularly in the global south. In light of this, even as the US competes with them, PRC and Russia’s behaviour may be influenced by the US, its allies, and partners by modifying their external environment. One of the central tenets of the US-India strategic alliance is defence cooperation, which might be seen as a small, complex balancing coalition due to its informal nature. This partnership took off with 2005’s signing of the “New Framework for India-US Defence Relations,” which was amended and extended in 2015. Since then, it has functioned as a de facto alliance, engaging in regular military drills, tech collaboration, and strategic talks amongst the members.
The National Security Strategy highlights China’s growing sway over the Indian Ocean. China’s purchase of military installations in Djibouti and Pakistan and its building of ports in neighbouring nations like Pakistan and Sri Lanka are raising concerns about Chinese aggression in India. The Indian government worries that Chinese submarines are docking at ports in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Pakistan, and Somalia. The United States is shifting its focus to Asia, implying a more significant naval and security commitment to the region. The United States optimistic outlook on India’s growing position in the Indo-Pacific and its open invitation for India to become a more significant player in the region’s security architecture give India a fighting chance.
While rivalry with the PRC is most pronounced in Indo-Pacific, it is gradually expanding to other parts of the world. It’s a worldwide effort to define the rules of the road and build the links that govern international interactions and is going place in every sector of society, from economics and technology to diplomacy and development to security and global governance. The coming decade will undoubtedly be crucial in the on-going competition with the PRC and many other areas. Decisions and objectives made by the United States and India at this juncture will have far-reaching effects on both countries’ ability to compete in the future.
Despite being at the forefront of the PRC’s pressure, India is determined to pursue steps to safeguard its independence, security, and prosperity. To encourage India to make decisions unencumbered by an external force that is in line with its interests and ideals, the United States will work to provide high-quality investment, development assistance, and markets. The United States has to work with India, help it expand economically, and do it out of mutual self-interest rather than competitiveness. Unreliable technological infrastructure, indentured servitude in supply chain operations, and unreported, unregulated, and illegal fishing (IUU) are just a few issues this coalition will address. Despite Beijing’s efforts to suppress critics with threats of retaliation, the United States will continue to hold China accountable for human rights abuses in Tibet, the erosion of Hong Kong’s sovereignty and freedoms, and genocide in Xinjiang, as documented by the National Security Strategy (NSA).
The US-India Partnership
The alliance between the United States and India has been called the most important strategic partner of the twenty-first century. They saw how far their partnership had come from its first stage of symbolic gestures between the world’s oldest and greatest democracies to its current level of serious participation in business, military, environment, and innovation. This year, the United States and India celebrated 75 years of diplomatic connections and 75 years of Indian independence. In those 75 years, India has become the world’s biggest economy, growing at a pace more significant than any other. The partnership between the United States and India has increased to be distinguished by common ideas and priorities.
As the largest democracy in the world and Major Defence Partner, the United States is keen on working with India on both – bilateral and multilateral front – to advance their shared objective of a free and open Indo-Pacific, as outlined in the National Security Strategy. As a consequence of China’s activities in the South China Sea, the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are looking to strengthen their economic and security ties with India as a means of countering what they perceive to be China’s aggressive power moves in the region.
The alliance and partnership between the United States and India must be reinforced and modernised to continue to play an essential role in both countries’ national security strategies. The United States, Japan, India, and Australia have reformed into the “QUAD” and together, they have proven their ability to deliver for the Indo-Pacific region on a variety of fronts, including the fight against COVID-19 and climate change, the fortification of cyber security alliances, and the promotion of stringent standards in the infrastructure and health security sectors.
Challenges have been growing in Washington DC, among defence officials and policy experts about the United States’ ability to compete economically and militarily with Beijing at a time of domestic resource constraints while simultaneously addressing other global concerns. One possible answer is to expand one’s strategic network of contacts, especially in Asia. In this case, the United States would rely more heavily on its Indo-Pacific allies and help them improve their capabilities. Thus, the idea of a strategic network for the United States is not only a security framework, but also an effective method of addressing domestic expenditure demands.
The National Security Strategy 2022 by the Biden administration considers India as a regional and global partner in the Indo-Pacific. As the largest democracy in the world and a crucial ally in military concerns, India is rightly recognised as a significant player in the document. The National Security Strategy indicates areas of collaboration between India and the United States, which will help India, achieve its medium – and long-term defence objectives. India’s participation in regional alliances like as the QUAD (India, Australia, Japan, and the United States) and the I2U2 (India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the US) is highly valued since they form part of a “latticework of solid, durable, and mutually reinforcing links” in the Indo-Pacific.
Keshav Verma is PhD Candidate and Senior Research Affiliate at Centre for East Asian Studies, Department of International Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), India.
