India Major Powers

India – U.S

Introduction

                Through the years past independence, India-US relationship has transcended from one of estranged democracies to engaged democracies. The multi-dimensional and strategic nature of the cooperation in today’s geo-polity now faces problems of protectionism and strategic autonomy that need careful observation.

Defence Relationship

1. 1. Procurement of Globemaster and Guardian Unmanned Ariel System
   2. Strategic Trade Authorization (STA-1): S has granted India STA-1 status that provides license-free exports, re-exports, transfers under the regime.

1. Industrial Security Annex: As part of the 2+2 dialogue, there has been progress towards an ISA that can increase defence collaboration and cooperation
2. Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI): Through the DTTI, the countries have moved closer to defence co-production and co-development and pursue defence innovation

Economic Relationship

1. India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum to achieve convergence on economic issues (refer below)

Strategic Engagements

1. 2+2
2. The South China Sea and Maritime Security: QUAD and MALABAR
3. Counter-Terrorism: S supported the listing of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and both governments have committed to sharing information on suspected terrorists and to implement the UNSC Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters
4. Indo-US Nuclear Deal for the peaceful harnessing of nuclear energy in the current climate of energy insecurity and sustainability issues
5. LEMOA
6. COMCASA

Present Issues

Economic Issue

1. H1B Visa
2. Protectionism in trade and services: The U.S government ended the Generalised System of Preferences that enabled increased access of India’s exports to U.S marketà increased trade deficit
3. India’s place in US Trade Body’s Special 301 Report
4. Divergence of Interests at WTO:
   1. India’s Trade Policy: S has questioned India’s export incentives via the MEIS and Export promotion capital schemes at the WTO. India’s resistance to dairy and pork products from U.S and price reduction on medical devices are other points of divergence
   2. E-Commerce
   3. Trade War: The rise in tariffs on goods and services across both sides threaten the sustenance of free and fair global trade. This can dampen economic engagements and threaten India’s convergence to advanced economy

Defence

1. India’s purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf Air defence missile systems

Strategic

1. US-Iran-India
2. India-Russia-China-US

2+2 Dialogue

                The 2 by 2 dialogue involves a platform for discussion between defence and foreign ministers of the 2 nations on security, defence, commercial and investment matters.

Benefits of the 2 + 2 dialogue

• Security and Defence: 2+2 dialogue underlines Indo-US cooperation in realms of maritime security, army exercise and a free and open Indo-Pacific
• Commerce and Investment: The 2+2 dialogue can be seen as a platform where issues of trade and tariffs between India and U.S can be resolved to enlarge market access, drive job creation and economic development
• Strategic Cooperation: The 2+2 dialogue can be seen as culmination in the elevation of India and U.S from estranged partners to allied strategic major powers. U.S has similar dialogues with its critical allies Australia, Philippines and Japan while India has the same with Japan

COMCASA Agreement

                COMCASA is Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement between India and U.S targeted to ensure interoperability of Indo-U.S. military equipment and ensure the security of C4ISR (command, control, computer, communication, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) operations to prevent it from leaking to foreign hands

Significance of COMCASA

• Technology Transfer: COMCASA can help transfer avionics, encrypted communication and electronic systems to India that can help India achieve advanced and sensitive technology
• Multinational Operations: COMCASA can strengthen multinational operations in disaster relief and rescue with coordinated communication sourced from greater interoperability in matters of communication and equipment
• Information Exchange: COMCASA enables secure encrypted information exchange by enabling release of classified military information away from prying eyes of other countries. This can enable India to access big data base of American Intelligence

Concerns

• Loss of Strategic Autonomy: COMCASA can help use gain further inroads into Indian warships and aircraft after LEMOA using American C4ISR systems
• Balancing Russia would become an even more difficult task with further alliance to U.S
• Asymmetrical Nature of agreement favours U.S more
• India’s tactical and operational security may be compromised as well as its security of data given the access of U.S systems to it

Conclusion

                India needs to engage cautiously with U.S to maintain its strategic autonomy and resolve issues of trade to achieve convergence with advanced economies. It needs to cooperate where it can and resist where it must

India-Russia

Introduction: Russia has remained India’s all weather friend right from India’s tryst with destiny. India’s shifting from non-alignment to multi-alignment evidenced by its defence diversification and increased engagements to U.S has strained the cordial friendship shared by New Delhi and Moscow.

Economic Relationship

Connectivity

Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor

• Connect Russia with South Asia, North-East Asia and the Pacific region
• Logistics Savings: Reduce time taken to transfer cargo from 40 days to 24 days through Europe
• Aims to leverage resource-rich far east Russian regions which has high investment potential
• Diversify India’s maritime trade route with South Asian and South-East Asian nations

Cooperation in Nuclear Energy Field

• India and Russia signed the “Strategic Vision for Strengthening Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy” to collaboratively provide Russian designed Indian sourced nuclear power reactors in third world countries
• India is currently contemplating joining a trilateral cooperation with Bangladesh and Russia with regard to the Rooppur Nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
• India currently uses Russian made nuclear reactors to produce atomic energy in Kudankulam and Russia has been actively providing technological and expertise assistance to India

Conclusion

                In a rapidly changing geo-polity India-Russia relations are pivotal to India’s security in South Asia particularly given China’s peaceful rise and the growing nexus between these nations. New Delhi needs to engage constructively and multi-dimensionally with Russia using platforms of SCO and BRICS at its disposal to generate consensus.

 

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India-Japan

Defence Cooperation

• India and Japan have decided to diversify and deepen their defence cooperation with cooperation in areas of anti-submarine warfare, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and technological cooperation

Strategic Cooperation

Asia-Africa Growth Corridor

• Respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty (Panchasheel Template)
• Aims to boost institutional and digital connectivity and enhance economic relations between regions with renewed focus on infrastructure development and cooperation
• Focus on skill development and establishment of people to people contact between Africa, South Asia, East and South East Asia and Oceania
• India can leverage its soft power, historical and political relations with Africa while Japan can contribute technologically and financially to supplement growth in the African region
• Win-win diplomacy for India, Japan and African nations
• Counter initiative to China’s BRI: The AAGC is India’s alternative to China’s cheque book neo imperialist policy in Africa. India and Japan aim for an inclusive partnership model while China follows a closed model of development in Africa

Quadrilateral Alliance

                India, Japan, Australia and U.S. have sought to form a quadrilateral alliance aimed at security and peace of the Indo-Pacific region. The alliance characterised by Naval cooperation and coordinated activities guided at ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.

Reasons for the Quad

                In the evolution of geo-political scenario, India initially formed a triad with Russia and China (now evolved into BRICS) aimed to counter a unipolar world with U.S as the single head. The transformation of the world arena has necessitated the Quad which is aimed at preventing a unipolar Asia under China.

                It thus seeks to evolve a multi-lateral security architecture in wake of increased Chinese presence- submarines and naval bases in the Indo-Pacific region and its assertive claims on South China Sea.

Ideals of Quad

• Promoting Connectivity (Purely Economic)
• Countering terrorism and Addressing nuclear weapon proliferation (Think North Korea- Japan-U.S)
• Encourage respect for international law (UNCLOS- South China Sea context)

Moving from Non-alignment to Multi-alignment

                The Quad is also reflective of India’s shift from a policy of non-alignment to that of multi-alignment in realization of its own national interest. NAM had yielded a strategic autonomy where in India could engage with major powers without directly aligning with either. India’s current foreign policy has evolved to an inclusive engagement with all nations.

Project Mausam

It involves 39 countries in the Indian ocean littoral and aims to re-establish communications among countries of the Indian Ocean

Aims to revive ancient maritime routes where the trajectory of monsoon winds (mausam) helped create shared knowledge systems, technologies and traditions

The strategic dimension of the mission is to counter the increasing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean region as well as to evolve a multi-security architecture in the Indian ocean region

Mausam seeks to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security which has heightened in importance following the South China Sea issue.

India is also contemplating joining the Quad an alliance between India-U.S.-Japan and Australia that seeks to ensure maritime security in the region.

Challenges to Quad

• Commitment to China-centric Strategy: Neither U.S nor Japan have committed to China-centric security strategy in the wake of increasing extra-regional naval presence of China in the Indo-Pacific
• S’ Geopolitical Needs: The formation of a maritime security alliance that directly counters China may not be in the best interests of U.S as it needs Beijing’s help in ensuring peaceful dialogue with Pyongyang
• China’s Engagement with ASEAN: Several littoral states in the Indo-pacific have made clear their commitment to China and China’s importance in regional development and security in concurrence with its peaceful rise doctrine

Conclusion for India-Japan

                India and Japan must harmoniously cooperate to achieve a multipolar Asia in a multipolar world enabling a free and open Indo-Pacific for trade led growth in the backdrop of the peacefully rising dragon in the Indian Ocean that aims for a unipolar Asia in a multipolar world

Indo-Pacific

                Indo-Pacific refers to the confluence of Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean that subsumes the large geographical region encompassing east coast of Africa till Western Pacific Coast. The Indo-Pacific region holds great importance in strategic and economic spaces.

Economic Angle: Through maritime routes, it connects U.S, India, japan, China, Australia and the SEAN countries thus engraving its importance to global trade and commerce. Indo-Pacific as a single geographical entity holds great promise for the blue economy considering marine resources which can be fruitfully shared between constituent nations.

Strategic Angle: China’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean has caused India, U.S, Japan and Australia to vouch for a free and open Indo-Pacific that underlines freedom of navigation and maritime security. India and U.S in their joint statement have reinforced their commitment to international UNCLOS regulations. All stakeholder countries hence believe a secure Indo-Pacific is key to peace and economic growth.

Significance to India: India’s position of South Asian centrality in the Indian ocean offers it great strategic and economic significance. Being the largest economy, the longest coastline, blue economy and naval capabilities, India becomes a geopolitical keystone in the Indo-Pacific dynamic. It is at the centre of entwining countries who are beneficiaries out of the integrated geographical entity.

Security Angle: The shifting of the piracy line to the east and rise of non-traditional threats have heightened India’s concerns of free navigation across the Indo-Pacific. Greater cooperation with African nations are pivotal to securing India’s security interests in the Indian Ocean Region

Conclusion

                India’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific from the shores of Africa to that of Americas will be inclusive and plural built on the ideals of democracy. India shall stand for co-existence, openness and cooperation that shall be the foundation of a peaceful, stable and secure Indian Ocean region pivotal to robust economic growth of our country

India-China

Issues to Add on

1. High Trade Deficit: India has a burgeoning trade deficit with China given the cheap imports that flood the Indian market. Chinese exports to India threaten the stability and competence of India’s own electronic industry

India-China Renewal

• Soft Policy on Nepal and Maldives: India has been passive in its foreign policy with Nepal and Maldives treading softly on various issues in a bid to prevent Chinese strategic embrace
• Doklam Issue Resolved: India has buried the Doklam dispute with China and recalibrated its relationship with Beijing through the informal summit in Wuhan
• Rejection of Australia in Malabar Exercise: India disapproved of Australia’s request to join the naval exercise for the Indo-Pacific. Many see this disapproval as a softened policy on China in the background of China’s rising assertiveness and presence in the Indian ocean
• Military Cooperation: India has actively used SCO as a platform to cooperate and carry out military exercises with China, Russia and other members of the SCO
• Sharing of Hydrological Data: China has agreed to share hydrological data on River Brahmaputra during the flood season to India post-resolution of Doklam crisis
• 2+2 dialogue in Nepal to commonly invest and integrate the south Asian region
• NDB and AIIB through BRICS to set up a new international economic order

India-Israel

• Elevated to a strategic partnership, joint defence, transfer of technology from Israel
• Multi-Dimensional Cooperation: Signed several agreements in water, agriculture, space, science and technology
• Water Conservation: Israel has superior technology in matters of conservation of water with desalination and recycling techniques vastly employed to supply water resources to households and agriculture
• Defence: India is one of the largest buyers of Israeli defence technology and equipment
  • Barak-8 missiles
• Security: Increased cooperation to combat terrorism and address radicalisation through cyberspace. Strong stand against organisations and countries that finance and support such activities, Israel reiterates its stand against cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.
• Cultural: An Indian cultural centre is to be set up in Israel to enhance people to people contact between the 2 countries.
• Innovation: A technological innovation fund has been created the corpus of which will be used to make joint strides in innovation from both countries. A $40 million Innovation fund for Israeli and Indian entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies and products of commercial application
• Space: The Israel Space Agency (ISA) and ISRO have collaborated with the ISA utilising the launch vehicles of ISRO to send satellites. The launch of RISAT-2 satellite for surveillance and disaster management was a collaborative project of Israel Aerospace Industries with ISRO.

INDIA’s Pragmatic Approach with Israel

• India following a pragmatic policy with Israel engaging in multiple sectors including defence and cybersecurity thus elevating the relationship to a strategic one
• India appears to be following a policy of de-hyphenation separating Palestine from India’s relationship with Israel although it has committed its support to the two state solution proposed by the Quartet Roadmap

India-Israel Relationship Concerns

• Balancing Palestine: India’s increased proximity to Israel would make it difficult for conducive engagement with Palestine. India recently voted for a resolution against recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. India has a large Muslim population and hence it is in India’s internal peace and security interest that it pushes for a peaceful solution and balanced relations with both Israel and Palestine.
  • De-hyphenation: India’s policy of de-hyphenation of its Israel-Palestine relations enables it to maintain image of moral support for the Palestine cause and to engage constructively with Israel in multiple domains of defence, economy and strategic cooperation.
• Balancing Saudi: Ethnic reasons have often led to strains in relations between nations in West Asia and the Middle East. Israel and Saudi have historically experience such strains. India is dependent on both nations for diverse demands of defence, water conservation and oil. Hence it needs to be careful to avoid divergence in relations with either nation.
• Balancing Iran: India has logistical and strategic relations with Iran – Chabahar Port, INSTC- that aims to boost economic connectivity with West Asia and Central Asian countries. Israel is however concerned with the rising Iranian influence in Syria and Lebanon.
• Belt and Road Initiative: Israel has welcomed China’s BRI as a participatory in the economic network whereas India holds sovereignty concerns regarding the CPEC that passes through the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

India-Iran Relationship Concerns

• India wary of Iran’s stand on Kashmir in favour of Pakistan
• Energy Exploration: Iran provided the oil and gas exploration of Fazar B reserves to Russia despite India coveting the same.
• The slow pace of Infrastructural projects: India’s connectivity projects in Iran including the Chabahar port faced with financing challenges in the event of economic sanctions imposed by the U.S
• Multilateral Usage of Chabahar: Pakistan and China may also end up utilising the port which compromises the very strategic interest for which India developed the port
• Iran’s Support of the Belt and Road Initiative of China raises questions on its respect for India’s sovereignty of the PoK region
• Trade Deficit: Iran is one of the largest exporters of oil to India
• Role of U.S: India faces pressure from America in continuing its engagement with Iran. India has thus little autonomy in its relationship with Iran. Many opine that the relation is at the behest of the West
• Rupee-Rial Mechanism: To facilitate trade currently under negotiation

Chabahar Port

                Chabahar port is a port that India is developing in the Gulf of Oman region of Iran that can help India by pass Pakistan to gain access to Central Asia, West Asia and Westward markets fitting into the grand scheme of Look West and Connect Central Asia with INSTC in the backdrop.

Benefits of Chabahar

• By Pass Pakistan: The diplomatic standstill, rising tensions, border issues and security problems require that India need a route by passing Pakistan to gain access to untouched markets of Central and West Asia through road and rail
• Counter to China: Chabahar enables India to increase surveillance and presence along the length and breadth of the Arabian Sea that must be seen in the context of the Gwadar port built by China in Pakistan
• Iran Relationship: With India developing a port in Iran, it enables India to gain trust and confidence in Iran as a strategic partner and ally in Asia and other multilateral forums
• Economic Benefit: Chabahar can increase imports of iron ore, sugar and rice to India, decrease cost of oil imports and also provide a gateway for Indian goods to central and west Asian markets
• Humanitarian and Disaster Management operations receive a sound base in Chabahar

India- Saudi

Cooperation Dimensions

Strategic Partnership Council: India and Saudi Arabia will launch a mechanism for coordinated decision making on critical matters of strategic interest.

Saudi Investment in India: Saudi has pledged 100 billion $ investment in India with 44 billion $ for a Petroleum Refinery in India.

Energy Cooperation: Saudi is one of India’s largest oil supplier and there has been increased cooperation in the movement towards sustainable modes of energy

Counter-Terrorism:

1. Saudi Arabia has committed to sharing intelligence, extradition of terrorists
2. A Joint Statement with India urging early adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism as well as comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organizations
3. Comprehensive Security Dialogue consisting of National Security Advisors and set up Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism

Issues with Saudi

Relation with Pakistan: Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in Pakistan and its increased proximity with India’s terror exporting neighbour greatly complicates the relationship. The billions of dollars it extends may enhance financing of terror activities from across the border

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