India-US Ties Stand Firm Despite US Prez Trump's Antics

His desire to seek credit for this development in the region should not come as a surprise. After all, he'll be hoping that this claim will largely make up for his inability to taste success in handling the Ukraine-Russia conflict and also the failure to adequately deal with the Gaza issue.   

While many have commented that Trump's claim has somewhat dented ties between New Delhi and Washington, India’s two senior diplomats — Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) Pavan Kapoor’s visit to Washington last week showcased that the key elements in the strategic partnership remain strong and have room for further improvement.

In fact, the visit by Misri and Kapoor did arrest the slide in the all-important relationship even as limitations of the strategic partnership were visible yet again during Operation Sindoor.

Notwithstanding the hiccups and the recent exercise to thin down the State Department and the US National Security Council, Misri and Kapoor were received with positive sentiments from their American counterparts. Officials of the American Department of Defence also extended a warm welcome to the Indian side. 

The visit, in many ways, was a follow up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s February Summit with President Trump. But the visit and the outcome were monitored closely amid the American leader’s repeated attempts to highlight his role in “brokering” peace between India and Pakistan.

Misri and Kapoor meanwhile have remained tightlipped on what was discussed during their trip to the US.  

There has been no public statement from Misri or Kapoor on what was discussed or the impact of Trump’s statements on India-US ties, but it is understood that the two senior officials made India’s case in no uncertain terms and highlighted New Delhi’s red line.

Cross-border terror exported from Pakistan figured prominently in the discussions as New Delhi shared various details of Islamabad’s designs.

The two sides at the same time sought to further boost their defence, tech, and trade partnership.

At the meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, both sides reviewed the full spectrum of the bilateral agenda. They underscored that technology, trade, and talent would be the key pillars shaping the India-US partnership going ahead.

In meetings with US Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg and the country's Under Secretary for Policy Elbridge Colby, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a robust and forward-looking defense partnership.

Discussions focused on co-production and co-development initiatives, sustained joint military exercises, logistics and information-sharing frameworks, and enhancing interoperability between the armed forces.

US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender and Misri also discussed ways to deepen economic and financial ties, including collaboration in international financial institutions and coordination in the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) processes.

India is trying to get Pakistan listed by FATF. Misri and Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler reviewed progress on the India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement, cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, and the need to streamline ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and export control regulations. They agreed to convene the next meeting of the India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue.

The visit has also boosted India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) deal, something that will be closely monitored in the days to come.

Trump And His Policies

Interestingly, Trump hardly crossed the red line in his first term ostensibly due to wise counselling.

But things are different this time and the US President's actions have rather left a bad taste.

It appears that the US President chose to ignore the basic tenet in India’s foreign policy that all disputes are dealt by New Delhi bilaterally for decades.

US' Former National Security Adviser John Bolton's after all commented “Trump is Trump.”

The Pakistan-led lobby has been able to convince Trump that Islamabad has a huge trade potential defying the basic logic.

India Builds Broader Anti-Terror Coalition

Besides focusing on the US, India is all set to garner global support in its fight for anti-terrorism. The visit by Indian Members of Parliament to various world capitals, some not so well-known or popular, has been termed as “junket” by several quarters and critics who have failed to fathom the essence of this exercise.

Though India has a robust counter-terror partnership with certain partners, Pakistan’s narrative which unfolded at lightning speed appears to have created confusion in certain capitals particularly in Europe and Latin America.

It needed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s charm and intellect to win over the government in Colombia which is a destination for India’s petroleum imports.

The Colombian leadership reconsidered it position and did a course correction.

Interestingly, for African states such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and Congo that have hardly received any Indian delegation, this journey by the MPs allowed them to get a glimpse of the new India.

Similarly, Slovenia in Europe, which shares goodwill with India since the days of Yugoslavia, also had a good exposure when the delegation held brainstorming sessions.

The trip to Indonesia, home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, but with strong roots in local traditions and connections with India missed to grab headlines. Indonesia may not always be in news, but the country has been quietly batting against the Pakistani narrative on Kashmir in the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation).

Efforts are now being made to work with Jakarta to blunt Pakistani narrative in OIC with support from certain Arab and Central Asian states.

(The writer is a commentator on geo-politics and geo-economics)