Friction in India-US ties not good for either

Both countries must think again about what’s at stake

The recent 2+2 ministerial talks between India and the United States have underscored persistent divergences in their positions on global issues and niggling problems that can be expected to prevent more meaningful co-operation. As expected, the Ukraine crisis cast its long shadow over the talks. India has not sided with western countries against Russia on the Ukraine crisis. Rather, it has adopted a seemingly neutral but carefully nuanced position, keeping in mind its own interests and vulnerabilities. Given its decades-old military ties with Moscow and its dependence on Russian military hardware and spares, it has avoided criticising Russia on the Ukraine crisis. India also continues to trade with Russia, which has irked the Biden administration. Additionally, the Biden administration has made the promotion of democratic values a centrepiece of its foreign policy and has taken to hectoring India on its human rights record. At a joint news conference after the talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US was monitoring developments of concern in India “including a rise in human rights abuses.” A day later, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said that India too had its “views” on the “human rights situation” in other countries, including the US.

Despite the continuing military tensions with the Chinese along the disputed border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating in the upcoming BRICS summit that China will host. Only a few weeks ago, India had cold-shouldered Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to New Delhi. It did seem then that India would snub Beijing by staying away from the BRICS summit. Has the Ukraine crisis, and what Delhi sees as American and western hypocrisy on issues ranging from their dealings with Russia to India’s internal affairs, triggered a rethink in Delhi about the value of its much-hailed strategic partnership with the US? India-Russia defence cooperation is not just about accessing Russian weapon systems. The cooperation has expanded to joint production of weapon systems. This is not the case with the US. America has offered to help India overcome dependence on Russia for military equipment. How far and fast is it willing to go?

Jaishankar’s remark shows that there is now not the smoothness in the India-US relationship that had been built over the last 30 years and had existed so far. The tone and tenor of the public utterances show that there is friction in the relationship, especially as Delhi remains touchy and defiant on issues of democracy. That could stall progress in the bilateral relationship in many areas, as well as India’s own rise economically and technologically, and that will only benefit China.