What PM Modi's latest United States visit implies for India

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States has delivered momentum to the mutual relationship that had begun to show signs of plateauing, there are apprehensions about defence agreements signed during his tour and their impact on India's long-standing arms supplier Russia as well as China in the region.

In the joint statement, both sides quietly dropped a specific mention of South China Sea, lest Beijing's feathers were ruffled. China, however, is blocking India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), and experts here believe that Modi's diplomatic skills will be tested in the coming months to quell the impression that India is drawing closer to a US-led military alliance. In the past, in September 2014 and January 2015, India-US joint statements were more upfront, mentioning the South China Sea as well as maritime disputes and the significance of freedom of navigation and overflight. Modi also got a diplomatic boost from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, when he supported India's efforts to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Diplomats here believe that biggest takeaway from the PM's visit was his speech at the joint session of US Congress, as well as his interactions with young US lawmakers. US Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, who has struck up a close friendship with the prime minister from the time the latter was Gujarat chief minister, appreciated Modi for finishing his speech using Walt Whitman's comments about 'a new symphony'. "The symphony has changed. The relationship is going to be obviously much deeper -- we are going to build a very strong partnership based on our many shared values," Royce said. Modi spent half a day on Wednesday on Capitol Hill to interact with the next generation of American leaders. After the address, he was surrounded by throngs of young American legislators seeking his autograph, reminding one of Indian lawmakers who jostled to shake hands with US President Bill Clinton after Clinton addressed a joint session of Indian Parliament in March 2000. Modi's long day on Capitol Hill began well before his actual address when House Speaker Paul Ryan received him in person.

But behind the bonhomie, the two key defence agreements Information Exchange Annex (IEA) and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement inked during the visit have sent waves of concern back in India. The former deals with enhancing data and information sharing specific to aircraft carrier technology and the latter is aimed at authorised port visits, joint exercises, joint training and HA-DR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief). Describing India "as a major defence partner" with access to a licence-free range of dual-use technologies, the US said it would support the Indian initiative to develop defence industries through the export of goods and technologies consistent with US laws. Officials in the security establishment, who don't wish to come on record, said the US has more to gain from India after these pacts. The US military is much larger and its ships, aircraft and soldiers operate across the world. It is very likely that the US would need to use Indian military facilities far more often than the Indian side would need US bases. Also, there is concern about compromising on Indian military secrecy. Plus, there are reasons for the Russians, who continue to be India's largest military supplier, to get annoyed, they said. Further, there are still ifs and buts on larger US investments in Indian space technology, that would allow India to access technology for high altitude long endurance (HALE) drones such the Predator unmanned combat aerial vehicles, that the US uses in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria.

Modi will have to satisfy political parties back home on these issues, as the Left Parties have already raised an alarm that the Logistics Agreement will have to face serious consequences and all this amounts to abandoning independent foreign policy and bilateral interests with the friendly countries in West Asia (Iran).

Further, becoming priority partners in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region with the US also has dangerous implications for India's relations with South Asian countries. India's interests will now be equated with US interests and the US strategic objective of "containment of China". Further, the cost of six Westinghouse nuclear reactors to be set up at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh is going to be around Rs2.8 lakh crores. The cost of power produced from these reactors will most likely prove to be unsustainable.