DNA Edit: Get the sum right – 2+2 should be partnership of equals

The first-ever 2+2 Dialogue between India and the United States had a promising start and ended on a positive note although the points of divergence were more evident than those of agreement. The meeting between India’s External Affairs and Defence Ministers Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretaries of State and Defense Michael Pompeo and James Mattis held on September 6 is a new process in a format that was decided upon by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at their first meeting in Washington DC in June 2017. 

An important accomplishment is the two sides signing the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which marks a new level of defence partnership between India and the US. COMCASA is the third most important step taken to reinforce the enabling framework for closer bilateral defence cooperation. Two earlier agreements for deepening defence cooperation were signed in 2016 and earlier this year. In practical terms, COMCASA clears the decks for transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India for enabling inter-operability between the armed forces of the two countries. It is the convergence of India-US defence interests that serves as the rationale for such enabling framework agreements. 

Among the points of convergence are: one, the commitment of both countries to a rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in securing a strategic access for Indian ships and merchandise to the South China Sea, in the face of China’s claims; two, the joint resolve to strengthen cooperation and action against terror outfits based in Pakistan. Working together on these counts serves US and western interests as much as it addresses India’s concerns. To that extent, Washington has not done India any favour in agreeing to cooperation especially in the Indo-Pacific. That said, there are serious points of divergence between India and the US, which are of greater concern to India. These relate to India’s military, economic and energy security. 

Washington’s attempts to bear down on India to thwart the purchase of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile from Russia strikes and hold out the threat of sanctions unless India stops buying oil from Iran strikes at the very root of India’s strategic autonomy – which is at the core of its foreign policy. For the US to dictate India’s relations and transactions with independent powers and long-standing friends like Russia and Iran is something entirely unacceptable. Prime Minister Modi has made it clear that India will not buckle under pressure. For the 2+2 to succeed as a partnership of equals, the US needs to be more sensitive and responsive also to India’s concerns on issues of trade and H1B visa. Swaraj has reiterated India’s case for a non-discriminatory H1B visa regime which is central to sustaining people-to-people ties. The US needs to relent on these for the 2+2 process to move forward in the desired direction.