{"id":18063,"date":"2015-01-29T11:00:39","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T00:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=18063"},"modified":"2015-01-30T12:15:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-30T01:15:53","slug":"us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Prime<\/a>US President Barack Obama visited India between 25 and 27 January, becoming the first US president to visit India twice while in office and the first US president to be the Chief Guest during India\u2019s Republic Day celebrations. In a visit high on symbolism, substance could easily have been lost. But in the official engagements that spanned this visit, India and the US moved much closer to achieving the kind of cooperation that\u2019s repeatedly eluded them in the last decade. While the personal chemistry between the two leaders seemed to be the driving force behind reinvigorated cooperation, shared national interests underpinned that chemistry. Even the joint statement issued at the end of the bilateral dialogue reflected that with its title Shared Effort; Progress for All<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The present Indian government enjoys a substantial majority in the lower house of parliament and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has articulated a clear vision of development. US analysts have hailed what they see as a predictable environment for investment, and the revision of India\u2019s land and labour laws by the Modi government should help to make investments in India even more attractive.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s economic progress will be accelerated by greater foreign investment from\u2014and technological cooperation with\u2014the developed world. And the US needs newer markets as China settles for lower growth rates as it adjusts its economic structure. Those big geopolitical and geoeconomic drivers are likely the reason why the Indian Prime Minister overcame the bitter history of the denial of a visa by the US for his alleged role during the 2002 riots to visit the US a few months after assuming office. A lot of agreements achieved in principle during Modi\u2019s September visit to the US were translated into more practical cooperation in or on the eve of Obama\u2019s visit to India. The \u2018Smart Cities<\/a>\u2019 initiative was turned into Memorandums of Understanding as was the agreement on improving the hygiene, water and sanitation conditions in urban India.<\/p>\n

Moreover the leaders appear to have broken the deadlock on the two issues that\u2019ve impeded closer civil nuclear cooperation\u2014the US\u2019 worry about the Indian Civil Nuclear Liability Bill that made suppliers as liable as operators in the event of an accident, and India\u2019s worry about the sovereignty implications of the tracking clause attached to US nuclear fuel supply. Finer details are awaited, but overcoming those hurdles should facilitate and accelerate nuclear technology cooperation between India and host of other countries, including Australia.<\/p>\n

On defence cooperation, both sides agreed to expand the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) to allow co-development and co-production in four pathfinder areas, and a joint group was announced to look into jet-engine and aircraft-carrier technology sharing and design. Both sides also agreed to expand their naval engagement, joint exercises, military personnel exchanges and defence dialogues under the 2015 Framework for the US\u2013India Defence Relationship.<\/p>\n

Has China driven the recent warmth in US\u2013India relations? In part. It\u2019s important to recall that Prime Minister Modi gave an exuberant welcome to President Xi Jinping in September 2014. It was for the first time that a visiting dignitary had been received outside New Delhi and a lot of preparation went into President Xi\u2019s visit as he came to India with an ambitious agenda. But at the same time as President Xi was enjoying the Indian hospitality, another border standoff erupted and on this occasion the Chinese Army was regarded as highly aggressive. Perhaps the duality of India\u2013China engagement didn\u2019t go down well in Delhi; India, being the smaller power of the two, is not in a mood to be coaxed into economic cooperation without strategic certainty.<\/p>\n

At the same time, there\u2019s an inherent bilateral logic to the US\u2013India relationship. India will never be a US ally because strategic autonomy has been and will remain a cornerstone of its global approach. But the shared interests are many, including Afghanistan\u2019s future, terrorist havens in Pakistan, the advent of Islamic State, and freedom of navigation across Asia. In the time between bilateral state visits, India and the US have come to realise that working towards practical deliverables is the only way to expand cooperation and mutual understanding.<\/p>\n

Avinash Godbole is a research assistant with the <\/em>Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses<\/em><\/a> in New Delhi. These are his personal opinions. Image courtesy of Flickr user narendramodiofficial<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US President Barack Obama visited India between 25 and 27 January, becoming the first US president to visit India twice while in office and the first US president to be the Chief Guest during India\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":18065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[143,69,792,935,31],"class_list":["post-18063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-asia-pacific","tag-india","tag-nuclear-energy","tag-nuclear-policy","tag-united-states"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUS\u2013India relations after the Obama visit | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"US President Barack Obama visited India between 25 and 27 January, becoming the first US president to visit India twice while in office and the first US president to be the Chief Guest during India\u2019s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-29T00:00:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-01-30T01:15:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/16192417398_4ab78b6577_z.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"382\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Avinash Godbole\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Avinash Godbole\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/16192417398_4ab78b6577_z.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/16192417398_4ab78b6577_z.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":382,\"caption\":\"Prime Minister\u2019s Media Statement during Joint Press Interaction with President of United States of America\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/\",\"name\":\"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-29T00:00:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-01-30T01:15:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/2ed2e170e4ac2dfad2862aa113df8cdc\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/2ed2e170e4ac2dfad2862aa113df8cdc\",\"name\":\"Avinash Godbole\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b42c669c665282fbea986829cd47ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b42c669c665282fbea986829cd47ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Avinash Godbole\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/avinash-godbole\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit | The Strategist","og_description":"US President Barack Obama visited India between 25 and 27 January, becoming the first US president to visit India twice while in office and the first US president to be the Chief Guest during India\u2019s ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2015-01-29T00:00:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-01-30T01:15:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":382,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/16192417398_4ab78b6577_z.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Avinash Godbole","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Avinash Godbole","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/16192417398_4ab78b6577_z.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/16192417398_4ab78b6577_z.jpg","width":640,"height":382,"caption":"Prime Minister\u2019s Media Statement during Joint Press Interaction with President of United States of America"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/","name":"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2015-01-29T00:00:39+00:00","dateModified":"2015-01-30T01:15:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/2ed2e170e4ac2dfad2862aa113df8cdc"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-india-relations-after-the-obama-visit\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US\u2013India relations after the Obama visit"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/2ed2e170e4ac2dfad2862aa113df8cdc","name":"Avinash Godbole","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b42c669c665282fbea986829cd47ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b42c669c665282fbea986829cd47ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Avinash Godbole"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/avinash-godbole\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18063"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18097,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18063\/revisions\/18097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}