Modi’s America visit cements Indo-US friendship for next generation

The grand reception accorded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on June 22 at the White House - to which a large number of US nationals of Indian origin were invited - demonstrated three new aspects of the US-India friendship.

These aspects are: the two largest democracies are set to lead the democratic world in facing both ‘challenges and opportunities’ in the times ahead, the Americans of Indian origin are bringing pride to both nations, and the Indo-US relationship now embraces all aspects of defence and security.

These are clearly the new benchmarks set to define what looks like an irreversible friendship between the two countries.

It is indeed remarkable that there are no conceivable negatives about this relationship notwithstanding India’s balanced approach to the Ukraine-Russia military conflict and a strong lobby in the US questioning the alleged erosion of freedom of expression in India under the Modi regime.

In their opening remarks, both Biden and Modi referred to the democratic base of the Constitution of the two countries rooted in the words ‘We the people’ and spoke of their shared commitment to world peace and advance of democratic values.

International relations in today’s geopolitics are determined by both security and economic concerns of the nations but the geo-strategic dimensions had the overriding importance - significantly the National Security Advisors of India and the US, Ajit Doval and Jake Sullivan, were the only other invitees to the private dinner and musical evening that President Biden hosted for the Indian Prime Minster at the White House on the first night of the visit itself.

Prime Minister Modi’s comprehensive, informative and powerful address at the US Congress was undoubtedly the best presentation of India’s progress in recent years, its civilisational strength and its vision of a peaceful ‘one world’. He called for a new world order- post-Covid- marked by a seamless Indo-US cooperation for economic growth, security and environmental sustainability.

His commitment to India’s national interests stood out as he marshalled the facts of India’s advance in digitalisation, the success of ‘direct transfers’ to the poor and the mutuality of gains that would result for both the countries from American investments in India.

Modi's emphasis on India speaking with ‘one voice’ despite its vast diversity in terms of language, customs and ways of worship was an effective counter to those who had been building a narrative of India’s internal ‘divisiveness’.

The Prime Minister pointed out that from being ‘a stranger’ in the area of defence cooperation, the US is now one of the largest defence collaborators for India.

On important geopolitical developments, the Prime Minister was characteristically upfront as he forcefully upheld the right of all stakeholders to demand ‘an open rules-based order’ in the Indo-Pacific and oppose any aggression and encroachment there, reiterated in the context of Ukraine-Russia military confrontation, that ‘this was not the era of war’ and called for peaceful negations to end the ‘human misery’ resulting from the conflict and made strong advocacy for full membership for African Union in the G20.

He was clearly advising President Putin to heed the call for peace negotiations with Ukraine under the UN charter but he did that without joining in the criticism of Russia for its military intervention in that country.

On China, Prime Minister Modi said that dark clouds of ‘coercion and confrontation’ were looming large over the Indo-Pacific and left no one in doubt that India was fully committed to Quad for protecting the freedom of the region. All of this secured a complete convergence of the stand of the US and India against China as the common adversary - India’s unlimited cooperation with the US in areas across the spectrum - from space to ocean - gives a message to China that any aggression in the Indian Ocean would be effectively put down.

What was implicit in India’s approach to Russia - and this seems to have been grasped by the US-led West finally - was that nothing should be done to irreversibly push Putin into the Chinese camp as this would not be in the strategic interest of either the US or India.

The US visit has given a transformational lift to India as a world player in both global growth and security.

The most important part of the joint statement from the point of view of India’s strategic and national security concerns is the clear denunciation of global terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, by both US and India. Demanding concerted action against all UN-listed terror groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS, LeT, JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen, the two leaders condemned cross-border terrorism and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control was used for launching terror action.

President Biden joined the Indian Prime Minister in demanding strong action against those behind 26/11 and the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.

Biden administration has finally discovered the true character of the ‘Deep State’ in Pakistan and got over notions of ‘good terrorists vs bad terrorists’ it once harboured to draw a line between Islamic radicals who attacked the US-led West and the India-specific terror outfits controlled by Pak ISI that made no hostile move against the US.

American administration also realised that Pakistan pretended to be a mediator in talks at Doha only with the intention of getting the Taliban Emirate reinstalled in Kabul just like what it had done in 1996 in the years following the withdrawal of the Soviet army from Afghanistan.

The visit has effectively highlighted the threat posed by the Sino-Pak axis to the entire democratic world. While diplomacy continues to contribute to the evolution of foreign policy, today’s uncertain geopolitics has made the role of India’s National Security Advisor particularly important as a prime determinant of international relations.

The visit of Prime Minister Modi to the US has proved this - the stand clearly shared by him with President Biden on the threat of Islamic radicalisation was extremely important. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Egypt on his return has met a strategic requirement of India in dealing with this threat. Egypt still carrying the legacy of the Shiite Fatimid empire practices moderate Islam of the kind that had facilitated the advent of Sufism. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE with their new equation with Israel in I2U2, are the nodal points in the Muslim world that Prime Minister Modi on the advice of the NSA is tackling to the great advantage of India.

(The writer is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Views expressed are personal)