Article

Prospects of India-US Defence Cooperation

By : Anil Ahuja

Page No: 139-153

Abstract 

In the years since Biden was last in office the geopolitical focus has transitioned from Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific. The US approach over the years has been to support India’s emergence as a strong pillar of regional stability. For India, the US is a major security partner, relied upon for capability development. Mutual convergence now transcends across political divide in both countries. The positive trajectory of defence and security relations however cannot be taken for granted. Some serious questions confront both sides: whether the defence and security component will be kept reasonably insulated from other contentious bilateral issues. How would the India-US-Russia relationship be balanced? How would India balance the imperatives of defence along disputed land borders with the vision of its role in the Indian Ocean? How transactional would the Indo-US relationship be? The paper suggests nuanced consideration of issues of divergence. The trend of India-US relations remains positive. It requires a review and reinvestment rather than any major reset- which however is imperative.

Author :

Lt Gen Anil Ahuja (Retd) is a Distinguished Fellow at the VIF. He is a former Corps Commander and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff for Policy Planning and Force Development. He has been the Co-Chair of India – US Inter Agency Task Force on Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). He has also served as India’s Defence Attaché to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.