31 January 2015

Obama’s Visit: A Paradigm Shift in Strategic Partnership

30 Jan , 2015

President Obama and the First Lady came to India this week on a state visit from 25 to 27 Jan 2015. This visit underscored the importance of the fact that the USA and India are true global partners in an effort of strengthening economies and strong democracies. This shared global vision made this US President to be a first to have visited India twice while in office.

Today it is in the common interest of India and the US to ensure a stable balance of power in Asia…
In essence the visit was well summarised when Prime Minister Modi said, “This is a natural global partnership. It has become even more relevant in the digital age. It is needed even more in our world for far-reaching changes and widespread turmoil. The success of this partnership is important for our progress and for advancing peace, stability and prosperity around the world.”

Going back to the days when USA’s 7th Fleet came threateningly close in Bay of Bengal during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan in support of the later. Towards providing perspective and defining strategic partnership between the two countries, Jan 2015 Obama’s visit should not be seen any less than a miracle.

Five major take away from this visit that defines the future of our strategic partnership are as follows:

Indo-US nuclear logjam broken The significance of the completion of the India-US nuclear deal cannot be overstated. Signed in 2005, with a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver in 2008, the deal has been in limbo for few years.

India and the US decided to carry out joint manufacturing of four relatively modest military products and explore the development of two more high-end technologies.

Asia-Pacific policy gets a new thrust: PM Modi and Obama released a Joint Strategic Vision statement for the Asia-Pacific (APac) and Indian Ocean region. The statement, which irked China, reaffirms both India and America’s concerns on maritime disputes in the South China seas. As per the Global Times, the US is putting more efforts into soliciting India to act as a partner, even an ally, to support Washington’s ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy,” The declaration highlights the close strategic ties between India and the United States, a relationship that can balance the growing strategic presence of China in the greater Indian Ocean region.

Joint production on 4 defence projects: Renewing their expansive defence framework for another 10 years, India and the US decided to carry out joint manufacturing of four relatively modest military products and explore the development of two more high-end technologies.

The four products to be co-produced are the next-generation Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), “roll-on, roll-off” intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance modules for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, mobile electric hybrid power sources and “uniform integrated protection ensemble increment-2 (chemical, biological warfare protection gear for soldiers)”.

The two nations agreed to step up joint combat exercises, maritime security endeavours, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, military exchanges and the like through the framework, which has the key new element of Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) to bolster India’s fledgling defence-industrial base.

Cooperation in the defence and economic arenas would boost India’s efforts to indigenise defence manufacturing…

Obama announced $4 billion of new initiatives:This announcement was aimed at boosting trade and investment ties as well as jobs in India, and opened up a whole new source of financing for social development ventures in the country through a new Indian Diaspora Investment Initiative.

Ambitious climate and energy goals: India and the United States will work together to support India’s ambitious climate and energy goals by focusing on air quality and increasing the share of renewables in the energy basket.

For a lay man to understand it better we need to dissect this visit to reason out why this paradigm shift? What has driven these two nations’ closer needs to be understood?

Broadly speaking the reason lies in the uneasiness created by hegemonic designs of China in the region and dramatic rise of global terrorism in scope and dimension is really what has brought these two so close.

Today it is in the common interest of India and the US to ensure a stable balance of power in Asia, so that no single power can exercise hegemony in any form across the Continent.

Cooperation in the defence and economic arenas would boost India’s efforts to indigenise defence manufacturing, including in the defence related high-technology and advanced electronics sectors.

There are immense opportunities in 2015 for India and the US to work together and with like-minded regional partners, for the promotion of peace, security and cooperation across Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

US investment in Indian industry and technology intensive manufacturing industries will strengthen India and, additionally, constrain China’s efforts to ingress and potentially dominate the Indian economy.

US and India share a common commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and combating terrorism in South Asia, and indeed across the world.

Strengthening the maritime cooperation to guarantee the security of sea lanes in the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific Regions, both bilaterally and together with partners like Japan, Vietnam and Australia assumes high priority.

There are immense opportunities in 2015 for India and the US to work together and with like-minded regional partners, for the promotion of peace, security and cooperation across Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

The unfolding geopolitical situation offers potential for coordinating policy in international affairs and increasing cooperation in the strategic, security and economic fields.

While there are many ‘commons’ to India’s east but such may not be the case to our west. There is scope, albeit limited, for cooperation in Afghanistan post the US withdrawal.

US strategic interests will inhibit Washington from applying pressure on Pakistan on sponsoring and abetting terrorism or changing its policy towards India.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, the scope for meaningful India-US cooperation is realistically limited. US strategic interests will inhibit Washington from applying pressure on Pakistan on sponsoring and abetting terrorism or changing its policy towards India.

Indian and the US interests do not clash in South Asia and the two can coordinate policies and cooperate in South Asia. The Indian Ocean is another ‘commons’ where the two countries have shared interests.

Whatever may be the Geo-Strategic advantages and incentives in cooperating with the United States of America, a word of caution for our policy makers; India should guard its strategic autonomy come what may.

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