Coming of Age of Indian Diplomacy: India-US summit and 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

Ukraine crisis has upended the geopolitical calculus. Strategic congruence which is the cornerstone of bilateral partnerships has come under strain in numerous cases. Indeed, the impetuous remarks of the US deputy NSA Daleep Singh’s on consequences of violating sanctions against Russia has threatened to wreck the India-US relationship. Against these odds, both countries successfully concluded the fourth edition of 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. Defying the grist of the rumour mills that predicted a doom for the India-US ties, in a testament to the shared commitment and strategic understanding, leaders of both countries held a virtual summit preceding the 2+2 dialogue.

Setting the tone for the engagement, leaders Prime Minister Modi and President Biden affirmed that strengthening of the Indo-US comprehensive global strategic partnership would accrue “tremendous benefits to the two countries and would contribute to the global peace, prosperity and stability”¹, read the MEA statement. The White House press release stated, “they emphasized their shared commitment, as leaders of the world’s largest democracies, to respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in the Indo-Pacific and beyond”². In fact, the press releases of both countries had set the agenda for the 2+2 Dialogue. EAM Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met their US counterparts Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defence Secretary Llyod Austin and held wide ranging discussions to expand and cement the clean energy, military, defence, technology, economic cooperation and people to people ties.

Indeed, the 4^th edition of the 2+2 which marks 75^th year of India’s independence and establishment of Indo-US bilateral ties sought to “promote a resilient, rules-based international order that safeguards sovereignty and territorial integrity, uphold democratic values and promote peace and prosperity for all”³. While the mainstay of Indo-US ties has been convergence of strategic interests, India’s stand on Ukraine crisis has unsettled the US.

To American frustration, despite intimidation, India remained unfazed and stoically maintained a neutral stand. India’s neutrality perceived as pro-Russian stance has been at the root of this contention even though India has unequivocally condemned Bucha killings and called for an independent investigation.  In fact, India was among one of the first countries to extend humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and dispatched three tranches of aid including medical supplies till now.

US is facing a major strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific in the form of belligerent China. Instructively, with the US turning its eyes away from Indo-Pacific due to its “Russian syndrome”, China dominated the space. Reworking its initiatives and unremittingly pursuing economic diplomacy, Beijing began occupying the strategic spaces abandoned by the US. Pushing into the Eurasian space, Middle East and South east Asia, Beijing slowly pulling these regions into it orbit. The West’s 2014 punitive sanctions post Crimean annexation firmed the Sino-Russian alliance, the current round of weaponization of trade, currencies and international isolation of Russia has cemented the “no limits friendship” of Russia and China.

Guided by commitment to democracy and pluralism, India and the US are natural partners.  Further, their growing interest to promote a resilient, rules-based international order and strategic convergence towards free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) have significantly brought them closer.

Firefighting China’s menacing presence into the Oceania currently, the need to partner with India to counter China dawned on America. Additionally, India’s reputation as net security provider of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), formidable attributes for a steady economic rise, the common pursuit of FOIP and close collaboration through the Quad Security Dialogue weighed heavily. Resultantly, displaying a spark of ingenuity and constructive engagement, disallowing the contentions to mire the relationship, countries held 2+2 dialogue and chartered out a blue print for a pragmatic strategic partnership.

Reaffirming commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, the 2+2 reiterated dedication to constructive agenda of Quad which included reviewing the Quad working groups on vaccines, climate change, infrastructure, space, critical and emerging technologies. In fact, the Quad Vaccine Initiative made remarkable progress and Cambodia became the first country to receive 325,000 doses of Made in India Covid-19 vaccines⁴. The 2+2 dialogue reviewed various facets of the cooperation besides the initiatives of the Quad.

Under the ambit of the global partnership, both sides recognised the importance of reliable internet and safe cyberspace and reaffirmed to 2021 reports of UN Open Ended Working Group and UN Group of Governmental Experts and countries confirmed intent to work closely to prevent usage of cyberspace for criminal activities. US welcomed India’s launch of new joint National Investigation Officers Training of Trainers Course in collaboration with the UN for multilateral peacekeeping force training.

Countries discussed the global and regional issues such as the need for an inclusive government in Afghanistan, cessation of violence in Myanmar, urgent implementation of the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, economic crisis and political disturbances in South Asia. Condemning terrorism, countries directly called on Pakistan to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to prevent the use of its territory for any terrorist activities.

As part of India-US Statement of Guiding Principles on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development, both countries through their agencies, Development Partnership (DPA) and USAID (United States Agency for International Development) decided to expand triangular cooperation with third countries in Asia and Africa.

Both countries having denounced the Belt and Road Initiative have affirmed interest to promote sustainable and reliable infrastructure development through Blue Dot Network and Build Back Better World, and support disaster impacted countries through India’s Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Upward trajectory of bilateral trade surpassing the $113 billion in goods has inexorably turbo charged the relations. Riding on the wave of economic cooperation, countries have expedited talks to remove trade barriers and improve ease of doing business through India-US Trade Policy Forum. Reconvening the India-US Commercial Dialogue and CEO forum, they underlined the need for Critical and Emerging Technologies to advance cooperation in information technology, space technology, AI, quantum science, semiconductors, biotechnology and STEM. Significantly, even negotiations for Investment Incentive Agreement (IIA) have reached an advanced stage.

The major thrust of bilateral energy cooperation has been clean energy technology. But a volatility in energy markets could threaten orderly and predictable global energy transition. India reinforced the nascent connect between the stability of fuel prices and climate change action. Given India’s commitment to climate change, Indian ministers appealed US to stop targeting India for its measly imports from Russia.

In the past three editions of 2+2 dialogue, India and US signed various foundational agreements that enhanced strategic cooperation in terms of interoperability, geospatial information exchange and logistics support. Registering another milestone, countries signed MoU on Space Situational Awareness for bilateral space cooperation and to ensure safety of outer space environment. This comes in the backdrop of ISRO and NASA joint launch of NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite to collect vital data in tackling climate crisis. Interestingly, around the same time, Russia and China have also reached an agreement for joint exploration of Moon and Mars.

Other notable flagship initiatives mulled by both sides include establishment of Defense Space Dialogue, AI Dialogue, India-US Education and Skills Development Working Group and continuation of Defense Cyber Dialogue.   

Military cooperation has been a major dynamic of India-US partnership. In addition to the ongoing bilateral and multilateral defense exercises such as MALABAR, MILAN, TIGER TRIUMPH, YUDH ABHYAS, VAJRA PRAHAR, COPE and RED FLAG, furthering maritime cooperation, US announced India’s joining of the Combined Maritime Force as an associate partner in Indian Ocean.

India’s reliance of Russia for defense purchases are now under scanner. To wean India away from Russia, US must position itself as a trusted and reliable defense partner. To promote India’s domestic capabilities, both countries are now seeking to work closely on coproduction, co-development, cooperative testing of the advanced systems and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and planning new projects under the India-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiatives such as counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform³.

India is currently the third largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), sixth largest in absolute terms (GDP). With an enviable demographic dividend, better business and investment environment, biggest consumer markets, stable government, India is the most sought-after emerging economy to partner. Through quick succession of FTAs with emerging economies India is lucrative place to trade.  Ticking all the right boxes needed for strategic synergy and geo-economic orientation, India firmly positioned herself as a pivot for global rebalance.

Indeed, assertively claiming her right place on global stage, India is now repudiating prejudiced criticism. EAM Jaishankar’s hard hitting response to India’s oil imports from Russia- “if you’re looking at (India’s) energy purchases from Russia, I’d suggest your attention should be on Europe. We buy some energy necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at figures, our purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon”⁵. Besides, his reply to a question by a reporter on “why not condemn Russia’s invasion (of Ukraine)?”. Jaishankar countered, “I prefer to do it my way and articulate it my way… We’ve made statements… We’re against the conflict”⁶.

India is always taken for task by the Western media and the so progressive democrats on the human rights issue. In fact, the Indian delegation remained silent when US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s took a swipe at India’s human rights. But setting the record straight on the human rights aspects and attributing it to American lobbies and vote banks, in one of his sharpest rebuttals, Jaishankar said, “People are entitled to have views about us. We are also entitled to have views about their lobbies and vote banks. We will not be reticent. We also have views on other people’s human rights, particularly when it pertains to our community”⁷. Jaishankar’s riposte is more telling given three Sikhs were attacked in New York this week.

In a similar vein, demonstrating India’s refusal to be intimidated by the CAATSA (Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), Jaishankar said, “it is their legislation whatever has to be done has to be done by them”⁷.  India-US dialogue and the public perception of the US are often stung by the unwarranted brazen bigotry of the media which spews a narrative contrary to the policy. This has inadvertently seeded a public distrust towards US in India.

Masterfully, addressing the issue and offering a reality check, Jaishankar astutely highlighted the adversities of such a dichotomy. “People in the administration, people dealing with policy, they are well-informed and in many ways they understand where India is coming from. At the same time, I would quite honestly say the narrative, the public narrative, sometimes is very, very different”^8.

Trust and mutual respect are quintessential to foster a seamless partnership. Reinforcing the need to decimate these misunderstanding and partisanship, interacting with Howard University students Jaishankar suggested, “for our ties to grow, it is equally necessary that there is a better understanding of India and the World on the part of young Americans. Your appreciation of a civilisational state and a fellow democratic polity that is daily overcoming enormous odds is essential. After all, we are natural partners only when our people have a strong sense of connection”^9.

On their five-day visit to the US for the 2+2 dialogue, the Indian delegation besides affirming a firm conviction to build a robust partnership has left no stone unturned to address the seething misunderstandings and issues of contention.

India is now a rising middle power and the colonial lens sported by commentariat and the influential lobbies are posing insurmountable hurdles for an effective trust building exercise and a longstanding time-tested relationship. During their visit, along side putting in place a framework for comprehensive strategic global partnership, the delegation has invariably set the terms of engagement and demonstrated their unwillingness to be subdued. India expects the US to walk the talk and treat India as an equal partner.

@ Copyrights reserved.