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For decades, relations between Washington and New Delhi were shaped through the prism of the cold war, when India was viewed as a client state of the Soviet Union, its largest arms supplier and one of its biggest trading partners. Even after the Soviet collapse, relations remained prickly, because of accumulated mistrust and New Delhis resentment over US sanctions of its nuclear weapons programme.
But in recent years Indo-US ties have undergone a dramatic transformation. George W. Bush, the US president, saw India, with its democratic tradition, as a natural ally, and was determined to bury the past
In 2005 Washington and New Delhi signed a 10-year defence co-operation agreement outlining their vision for strategic mutual support. In October, as the US financial system was crumbling and elections loomed, the Bush administration finally ended Indias nuclear pariah status, pushing a civil nuclear co-operation deal through the US Congress.
With the festering sore over Indian nuclear weapons lanced, the two countries are now redefining their relationship a process likely to take years and be fraught with difficulty.
As far as the US is concerned, they would hope that countries like ours would be part of the process of policing the international system they cannot do it alone, said retired Lt Gen Satish Nambiar, a defence analyst.
However, he added: Its not in our interests to be acting on behalf of, or as a proxy for, the US in the region. It will have to be cautiously played and, hopefully, the Americans will understand the position and play it that way too.
Analysts say Washington and New Delhi share many interests from fighting radical Islamism to safeguarding cargo ships in the Malacca Strait. Both are preoccupied with Pakistan which Stephen Hadley, a Bush administration adviser, has called the biggest security challenge facing Barack Obama, the president-elect, outside the Middle East.
New Delhi and Washington also share anxieties about the real intent of Chinas military modernisation drive, despite protests to the contrary. India and the US are developing joint capabilities that have the net effect of circumscribing the latitude and propensity of China for unilateral action, said Anupam Srivastava, Asia director of the University of Georgias Centre for International Trade and Security.
New Delhi is looking to the US as it seeks to modernise its military equipment. This week India announced the $2.1bn (1.5bn, £1.4bn) acquisition of eight Boeing surveillance aircraft to patrol its coastline, its largest purchase of military hardware from a US company.
India is shopping for 126 new fighter aircraft to replace its ageing Soviet era fleet and two US companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are among the six companies bidding for a contract worth more than $10bn. We are hopeful that India is seeing us as a reliable partner and an attractive alternative to our competitors out there, a US embassy official said on Wednesday.
Indian defence experts have also been holding quiet talks with their US counterparts about co-operation on missile defence systems to guard against nuclear threat, including possible acquisition of US technology, though they remain preliminary and mainly among technical experts.
Yet even as the nations grow closer, defence analysts say India will be a far from docile ally for the US.
Even when India was weak, it was not willing to play a subordinate role, so why should it be a junior partner to the US now, said C. Raja Mohan, a professor of international studies at Singapores Nanyang Technological University. But if India can grow strong with US co-operation, why should we deny ourselves that?(uh oh looks like uncle sam finally met there Match
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FT.com / Asia-Pacific / Pakistan - Washington finds ?natural ally? in New Delhi
But in recent years Indo-US ties have undergone a dramatic transformation. George W. Bush, the US president, saw India, with its democratic tradition, as a natural ally, and was determined to bury the past
In 2005 Washington and New Delhi signed a 10-year defence co-operation agreement outlining their vision for strategic mutual support. In October, as the US financial system was crumbling and elections loomed, the Bush administration finally ended Indias nuclear pariah status, pushing a civil nuclear co-operation deal through the US Congress.
With the festering sore over Indian nuclear weapons lanced, the two countries are now redefining their relationship a process likely to take years and be fraught with difficulty.
As far as the US is concerned, they would hope that countries like ours would be part of the process of policing the international system they cannot do it alone, said retired Lt Gen Satish Nambiar, a defence analyst.
However, he added: Its not in our interests to be acting on behalf of, or as a proxy for, the US in the region. It will have to be cautiously played and, hopefully, the Americans will understand the position and play it that way too.
Analysts say Washington and New Delhi share many interests from fighting radical Islamism to safeguarding cargo ships in the Malacca Strait. Both are preoccupied with Pakistan which Stephen Hadley, a Bush administration adviser, has called the biggest security challenge facing Barack Obama, the president-elect, outside the Middle East.
New Delhi and Washington also share anxieties about the real intent of Chinas military modernisation drive, despite protests to the contrary. India and the US are developing joint capabilities that have the net effect of circumscribing the latitude and propensity of China for unilateral action, said Anupam Srivastava, Asia director of the University of Georgias Centre for International Trade and Security.
New Delhi is looking to the US as it seeks to modernise its military equipment. This week India announced the $2.1bn (1.5bn, £1.4bn) acquisition of eight Boeing surveillance aircraft to patrol its coastline, its largest purchase of military hardware from a US company.
India is shopping for 126 new fighter aircraft to replace its ageing Soviet era fleet and two US companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are among the six companies bidding for a contract worth more than $10bn. We are hopeful that India is seeing us as a reliable partner and an attractive alternative to our competitors out there, a US embassy official said on Wednesday.
Indian defence experts have also been holding quiet talks with their US counterparts about co-operation on missile defence systems to guard against nuclear threat, including possible acquisition of US technology, though they remain preliminary and mainly among technical experts.
Yet even as the nations grow closer, defence analysts say India will be a far from docile ally for the US.
Even when India was weak, it was not willing to play a subordinate role, so why should it be a junior partner to the US now, said C. Raja Mohan, a professor of international studies at Singapores Nanyang Technological University. But if India can grow strong with US co-operation, why should we deny ourselves that?(uh oh looks like uncle sam finally met there Match
)FT.com / Asia-Pacific / Pakistan - Washington finds ?natural ally? in New Delhi
