Trump has brought US-India relations to their lowest level in 50 years with no immediate signs of improvement other than platitudes by his new ambassador. The Indian government still seems to be trying for a reset, but I think it’s past time they realised that America’s relationship with the rest of the world has fundamentally changed and that they need to gear up for confrontation rather than cooperation, because there are too many issues American strategic hawks and domestic economic interests disagree on and won’t compromise on with India for it to truly be accepted as an ally.
They certainly shouldn’t become a major importer of American oil and gas or American weapon systems as Trump is trying to push them to do. It would give too much future leverage to a country that can turn from ally to enemy over the course of a single social media post. They ought to maximise their economic benefits from America while also doing the same with everyone else, including China. They should also seek to diversify their international trade with other countries away from the dollar to other currencies to reduce American leverage for the inevitable future conflicts with Trump’s successors.
1 Comment
Trump has brought US-India relations to their lowest level in 50 years with no immediate signs of improvement other than platitudes by his new ambassador. The Indian government still seems to be trying for a reset, but I think it’s past time they realised that America’s relationship with the rest of the world has fundamentally changed and that they need to gear up for confrontation rather than cooperation, because there are too many issues American strategic hawks and domestic economic interests disagree on and won’t compromise on with India for it to truly be accepted as an ally.
They certainly shouldn’t become a major importer of American oil and gas or American weapon systems as Trump is trying to push them to do. It would give too much future leverage to a country that can turn from ally to enemy over the course of a single social media post. They ought to maximise their economic benefits from America while also doing the same with everyone else, including China. They should also seek to diversify their international trade with other countries away from the dollar to other currencies to reduce American leverage for the inevitable future conflicts with Trump’s successors.