There were three ministerial interactions happening in Washington and in New Delhi, between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Secretary of State John Kerry, and Minister of State for Commerce and Secretary Nirmala Sitharaman and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. And there were significant developments on the three fronts.

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Apart from the signing of the logistics exchange memorandum of agreement (LEMOA), which is a mutual sharing of supplies and repairs facilities, the major strategic thrust of the relationship with the US recognising India as the “Major Defense Partner” — which had happened during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in June 2015. — is that the United States is keen that India extends its footprint eastwards into Asia-Pacific. It might be premature to infer that this is part of the American attempt to contain China which Washington denies vehemently is its policy. There is also the interesting technological aspect to the defence relationship. There is reference to “jet technology, chemical and biological protection and aircraft carriers.” It would be interesting to watch how things work out in these three areas.

The Sushma Swaraj-John Kerry exchange covered the familiar ground of countering terror and the problem of terrorism emanating from Pakistan. But the curious development was the mooting of India-US-Afghanistan trilateral. Kerry was, of course, quick to scotch any possibility of strategic and military dimensions, by emphasising that India had already invested US$2 billion in Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction.

The more interesting exchange was between Sitharaman and Pritzker. While Sitharaman had revealed during the press interaction that India had raised issues concerning H 1-B visas and that Pritzker promised to get back after looking into it, Pritzker on her part struck a more positive note. She said that of Indians got 69 per cent of H 1-B visas in Fiscal Year 2015 and 30 per cent of L-1 visas issued worldwide. She has also pointed out that Indian foreign direct investment in the US was $11.8 billion till 2015. 

It will be both futile and naïve for anyone to protest that India is getting too close to the United States. The US remains a major power, if not a superpower, in global affairs, and there is increasing recognition on the part of the Americans that India is a valuable partner in the multi-polar global configuration. The debate then has to be on how the two can talk to each other on important issues, and how they can shape outcomes in the different trouble spots across the world. 

Though India-Pakistan relations are always on the verge of a boil, it is evident that there is little that Washington can do to mediate between New Delhi and Islamabad, except nudging, cajoling and warning Pakistan. It should not be however right to interpret that Washington is being soft on Pakistan. If anything, the US finds itself helpless in dealing with Pakistan because it feels that there could be no peaceful resolution in Afghanistan without Pakistan playing a positive role.

It has also to be understood that the India-US defence ties are commercial in nature more than anything else. Their strategic importance is secondary because there is little or no convergence in strategic interests between the two countries. Political parties in India can play the opportunistic game of raising a hue and cry about India-US relations, but it evident to everyone of them that the two countries will continue to deal with each other and the ties will only become stronger because of the huge economic potential in the two countries.