then why ally if not for china? the original thread I posted showed the only reason to do so because its impossible for India to handle china's asian aspirations on it own. if india is to have an identity in the region worth anything and not get bullied ....
We can ally when our interests converge on a wide range of subjects --ranging from terrorism , to global politics , to maritime security.
Let me give a couple of examples --
A full blown military alliance with the U.S will force us to divert our resources and military capability to many fonts , and considering our focus on our economic growth , it will divert resources from our much needed development work . The U.S on account of its strategic influence in areas as far reaching as Japan , Phillipines , Taiwan , Australia etc will be involved in a confrontation over China in any of these conflicts if they were to arise.
The question is should India let her assets be used to carry out operations even in far off places where we have no interests. Say if a conflict breaks out over Taiwan , is India a close ally of the Taiwanese to engage in War on their behalf ?
In a military alliance , the U.S will make sure we do.
Indian military strength should be preserved for the defence of Indian territory . And it is able to fulfill that role for now sufficiently.
We can only think of joining hands with the U.S , when our strategic reach and power projection capabilities are strong enough to cover our regions of interest ( aka the Indian Ocean Region) . This may happen beyond 2020 .
As of now a full blown military alliance where we remain as a considerably weaker partner vis-a-vis the U.S , and therefore will be at the U.S 's beck and call , is in my humble opinion, a big mistake.