US National Security Strategy Seeks To Recalibrate Russia Ties. It May Work In India's Favour, Too

The strategy also seeks to recalibrate US ties with Russia, the country that possesses the largest nuclear arsenal on earth, besides every natural resource known to humankind. This signals Washington's intent to de-escalate tensions with Moscow, viewing Russia not as an existential adversary but as a nuclear power with whom "strategic stability" must be revived to prevent any sudden escalation.      

US-Russia Ties, And India's Edge

Improvement in the ties between the US and Russia will potentially work in India’s favour, against the backdrop of the expanding economic partnership between New Delhi and Moscow, which would also keep China in check. India has long believed that efforts to isolate Russia will make it even more dependent on China, which would be to its disadvantage. 

India holds a significant place in the Kremlin’s foreign policy, which has always sought a balance in its approach in Eurasia and Asia as a whole. Revamped US-Russia ties may work in India's favour, with hopes that it will translate into lifting sanctions, too.

The “no-limits” partnership between Russia and China, after all, has limits as Russia is too big to be dependent on only a single market. 

Europe's Share Of The Geopolitics Pie

The strategy is a study in realpolitik, and may even be a reckoning for Europe, which is confronting a reality check. The era of idealism is over. US President Trump may even contribute to global stability through a partnership between major powers, including India and Japan.

The NSS underscores the need for the US's “pre-eminence” in the Western Hemisphere, reflecting Trump’s push for regional dominance.

In fact, the NSS went on to claim that Europe lacked “civilisational self-confidence and Western identity.” It is seemingly a wake-up call for Europe and its "superiority complex syndrome". The NSS even alludes to an "economic decline", with one of the paragraphs reading, “Continental Europe has been losing share of the global GDP — down from 25% in 1990 to 14% today — partly owing to national and transnational regulations that undermine creativity and industriousness."

On US Balancing Trade With China

The NSS has called for balancing trade with China, while, at the same time, deterring it from seizing Taiwan. “Going forward, we will rebalance America’s economic relationship with China, prioritising reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence. Trade with China should be balanced and focused on non-sensitive factors. If America remains on a growth path — and can sustain that while maintaining a genuinely mutually advantageous economic relationship with Beijing — we should be headed from our present $30 trillion economy in 2025 to $40 trillion in the 2030s, putting our country in an enviable position to maintain our status as the world’s leading economy," the NSS read. 

The US's stance on ties with China is neither rhetorical nor intended at the prospects of appeasement.  

The NSS has emphasised the need for the US to “work” with Asian partners (hinting at India) to provide a counterbalance to Beijing. The NSS says that “We must continue to improve commercial and other relations with India to encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security.”

Stakes In The Indo-Pacific

The NSS specifically mentions improving commercial relations with India for Indo-Pacific security through QUAD, thwarting monopoly in the region.

Trump must also realise that Pakistan is the red line, and that no Indian government will seek a peace deal with a country that pursues terror as an instrument of State policy; besides, efforts to normalise ties with Islamabad have always been breached.

The success of the Trump administration’s India policy lies in treating India as an emerging power that has the scale to counter-balance Washington’s biggest systemic rival. 

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics. Views are personal.)