US-India relations: Biden should embrace Trump’s example and see India as a balance against China

India can absorb some of the supply chains moving out of China, which would enhance its economic ability to take on its regional rival

The Trump administration was proactive in expanding the US-India partnership, and Biden should build on this to bolster New Delhi’s role

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Then US president Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace after giving a joint statement in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. Photo: AP

Akhil Ramesh

Akhil Ramesh is director of the India Programme and Economic Statecraft Initiative at the Pacific Forum.

Published: 10:15am, 6 Feb 2021Updated: 11:16am, 18 Feb 2021

In the policy world, there is a tendency to separate issues such as economics and security because of the bureaucratic process of policymaking. The declassified documents on the US strategy for the Indo-Pacific are no different: they clearly outline India’s role as a regional balancer in the region.

However, the focus is limited to conventional security challenges, defence collaboration and improving military interoperability between partners in the region. In a part of the world that accounts for 60 per cent of maritime trade, it is vital to focus on trade and economics.

If former US president Donald Trump’s use of sanctions, tariffs and efforts to decouple prove that economic statecraft can be a powerful tool while taking on adversaries, Covid-19 did the same by exposing the economic vulnerabilities of the US and other Quad nations – Japan, India and Australia.

They all rely on China for even some basic needs. The pandemic exposed their vulnerabilities to supply chain disruptions and their overreliance on the Chinese economy, both for imports and exports.