India-US defence ties can be a game-changer
Deepening India-US ties lay a favourable balance of power in Asia and keep a check on authoritarian China’s push for hegemony in the Indo-Pacific
The announcement of a paradigm-changing roadmap for defence industrial co-production, co-development and technology transfer between India and the United States (US) is a milestone in the evolution of the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the world’s two top democratic powers. It has laid an institutional foundation for deepening bilateral military cooperation to maintain a favourable balance of power in Asia and keep a check on authoritarian China’s push for hegemony in the Indo-Pacific.
The willingness of the US to share advanced hi-tech military knowhow with India to co-produce weapons and systems in critical defence domains spanning air, land and sea, and the launch of the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) for closer integration of private sectors of both countries, indicate a long-term blueprint to significantly boost India’s defence capabilities while generating healthy profits for corporations on both sides.
Indian companies such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tata Advanced Systems, Mahindra Aerostructures and Godrej & Boyce have been partnering with US defence giants such as GE in manufacturing marine turbines and commercial aircraft engines in India. Now, with the green signal given by the US to GE to co-produce military jet engines with Indian partners, the two countries finally have a demonstrable poster child project that can generate all-round momentum to strategic ties. Engine technology for fighter jets is a rare cutting-edge field in which India once attempted a purely indigenous programme called Kaveri but could not get optimal results. Now, with the spree of new defence deals and the related US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) – entailing joint scientific efforts in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, 5G and 6G, and semiconductors – an accelerated pathway has opened up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Make in India scheme in defence. For India to become a world-class military power that matches China in all dimensions, this is exactly the big shot in the arm that was needed.
Should the new India-US defence industrial roadmap fulfil its potential, it will have far-reaching strategic effects, dwarfing the limited gains obtained from the 2008 bilateral civil nuclear deal. Cognisant of the pitfalls of bureaucratic blockages and regulatory bottlenecks which previously yielded disappointing results in bilateral defence trade and technology transfers, New Delhi has asked Washington to clear “hurdles that stand in the way” for purchase and transfer of technology.
Top-level political clearance and facilitation is a key catalyst for fast-forwarding the exciting joint military capacity-building plans to be implemented by private corporations. New Delhi and Washington need to quickly join hands if they are to stall China’s march throughout Asia. An India-US strategic partnership that is half-baked and laden with half-measures will open the door for Beijing to punch its way through creaky defences and establish a Sino-centric order in the Indo-Pacific.
Apart from capability enhancements, the other dimension in the maturing India-US partnership is operational collaboration to beef up India’s role as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific. The two sides have to move beyond occasional joint military exercises and show off their combined presence in the Indo-Pacific alongside Quad partners Japan and Australia. For the India-US strategic partnership to have a deterrent effect on Chinese misconduct, it will need to venture further.
While proposals for the US navy or air force to access India’s strategically located Andaman and Nicobar Islands may sound a tad too much to New Delhi, which prizes its sovereign strategic autonomy and shies away from formal military alliances, creative workarounds that have a deterrent effect without calling it permission to use Indian territory as a base are possible. When the adversary, China, is a master at fuzzy grey zone warfare, we should be able to pay it back in the same coin.
There are voices of caution that argue India should not allow itself to be dragged into a war with China to serve American interests. But appeasing China by going light on India-US defence cooperation is no solution. It would be tantamount to an acceptance of China’s right to redraw borders using force. The notion that upsetting or provoking China too much is risky is based on a fundamental misreading of Chinese intentions, which are to impose a Sino-centric order in Asia, come what may.
Special forces of the US and India are already exercising jointly close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). American real-time intelligence is reportedly helping the Indian military thwart Chinese aggression at LAC. A higher degree of India-US integration in the maritime domain is a logical next step, given that India’s natural sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean is under direct challenge from an intrusive Chinese navy. The US has already strengthened the Indian navy’s sea and undersea surveillance capabilities. It is time to also step up with greater jointness and fusion in the operational sphere so that China is deterred by concrete action and not just accumulation of capabilities.
Sreeram Chaulia is dean, Jindal School of International Affairs. The views expressed are personal.
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