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India Never Going to Be America’s ‘Junior Partner', Analyst Says

18:35, 20 June 2023
© AP Photo / Dita Alangkara
Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on an official state visit to the US on Tuesday. He said that the visit will provide an “opportunity to consolidate” India-US cooperation across various sectors as well as in plurilateral forums such as the G20 and Quad.
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India will never be a “junior partner” to the US despite Washington’s effort to involve New Delhi in its network of alliances, an Australian academic has told Sputnik.

“The Indian civilization goes back a couple thousands of years. India expects to be there after the United States is gone, as a matter of fact. India belongs to BRICS. It belongs to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It's in every organization except the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),” remarked Professor Joe Siracusa, a political scientist and the dean of Global Futures at Curtin University.

He said that the US had been trying to “influence” India for the past fifty years and it was nothing new.
The expert recalled that the US is still to get over the fact that New Delhi chose “neutrality” during the Cold War rather than supporting Washington’s policy in the region.
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In the present context, Siracusa said that India would continue to chart its own policy vis-à-vis Russia and China, against the backdrop of the growing geopolitical tensions between the two countries and Washington.

India Won't Back US in Confrontation With Russia, China

The US’ National Security Strategy (NSS) undersigned by President Joe Biden describes China as the “consequential challenge” globally while describing Russia as an “immediate threat”.
The policy document calls India a “key partner” of the US in realizing the goal of a “free and open Indo-Pacific."

“If anyone in America believes that India is about to come on to their side of issues vis-a-vis China and Russia, I think they're deluding themselves,” he stated.

The Aussie dean noted that New Delhi, one of the nuclear powers, has consistently rejected pressure from the West to cut down its commercial and strategic ties with Moscow.
He noted that India has instead ramped up its relations with Russia to the point that it now ranks as New Delhi’s biggest crude supplier.
Siracusa underlined that even though New Delhi has been involved in a deadly military standoff with China in the eastern Ladakh region, it has so far done its “own thing” rather than “carrying the can for the US."
The academic said that New Delhi’s main security concerns were about its neighborhood, as it shares long and disputed borders with both its biggest neighbors—China and Pakistan.
On the maritime front, Siracusa reckoned that New Delhi’s focus was on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

He argued that Modi and many Indian scholars believed that the US’ “unipolar moment” has come and gone. “So, he's not going to ride a dead horse, he's going to ride his own horse,” Siracusa stated.

He said that although India was a member of the Quad grouping, it had never endorsed it as being a military front in Indo-Pacific.

Modi’s US Visit Aimed at Strengthening India’s Economy

Siracusa said that Modi’s visit to the US is looking to get better trading arrangements and developmental funds for India, which is still classified as a developing nation.
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He noted that for the last few decades, India has been sold off as a “potential powerhouse”.

“When Modi goes to America, he's looking for development money, he's looking for better trade deals and he's trying to harness the diaspora. He wants them to play their role (in contributing towards India’s economic progress),” Siracusa reckoned.

He said that millions of Indians globally view Modi as a “cult figure” and a “modernizer” of the country.
“They're very interested, very keen for someone like Modi to reestablish the narrative that India is on its way to becoming a powerful, developed country and that there's nothing to be embarrassed for,” he stated.
Siracusa stated that Modi’s public meeting at Madison Square Garden was a testament to his popularity among the Indian diaspora.
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