The following article, co-authored with Alyssa Ayres, Tom West, and Michael Fuchs, originally appeared in The Times of India on March 1, 2018.
The Indo-Pacific region is today the primary locus of
global growth and opportunity, but its security and stability are increasingly
under duress. China’s rise, while beneficial to international prosperity, has
occurred in a manner that continues to generate mistrust and anxiety across the
region – and the concerns are only growing. Beijing regularly attempts to
consolidate its control of disputed seas, airspace, and land, in the South
China Sea and in the Himalayas.
China also continues to flout established international
norms of cyber security and non-proliferation, and its international economic
policies are likely to leave many countries with unsustainable debt. Meanwhile
in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Islamist terrorist organisations continue to
destabilise the region and strike international targets, with little end in
sight.
India and the US, as the world’s two largest democracies
with two of the largest military forces, have a shared interest in ensuring a
stable security order in the Indo-Pacific. This shared interest has propelled
India-US security ties dramatically forward over the past decade.
Each has something important to offer the other. The US
can greatly assist India’s capacity building efforts. India has the potential
and willingness to shoulder regional security responsibilities, as evidenced by
increased patrols in the Indian Ocean, aid to South Asia, and humanitarian
assistance activities. But the India-US strategic partnership is still hobbled
by parallel bureaucracies that do not yet move in sync. The US often seeks
tangible short-term returns on its investment in India’s capabilities and
success, while India wants continued assurances that US support will be neither
fickle nor overbearing. A few important steps could help advance security
cooperation further.
One, the US could – with Indian inputs – create a
Strategic Advantage Initiative. Having designated India a Major Defence
Partner, the US could develop an initiative with the explicit objective of
enabling India to prevail in contested domains. This government-wide programme
would ensure that all US agencies take the appropriate steps to enhance defence
cooperation with India and that US commitments become ingrained in policy under
future administrations. Among other steps, this could involve refining export
licence regulations, offering India access to platforms and equipment that
boost its maritime security capabilities, and creating joint mechanisms to
identify specific capabilities necessary for various pressing security
contingencies.
Two, the countries could better coordinate humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations in the Indian Ocean region,
including planning and training. HADR is an area in which India has proven
remarkably adept in recent years. Creating a joint India-US Indo-Pacific HADR
cell might be one way of accomplishing this objective.
Three, for its part, India could create a more efficient
and transparent defence procurement process. This would not only benefit
India-US relations but also accelerate India’s self-reliance in defence and
thereby improve its ability to effectively perform a range of security
functions. Integration of international supply chains and joint defence R&D
could help to achieve the vision of Make in India. Currently, despite the US
having considerably eased the process for India to acquire sensitive military
technologies, India’s procurement process and military industrial base often
inhibit the absorption of these technologies.
Finally, India and the US could finalise a joint defence
implementation agreement that facilitates information sharing, interoperability
and capacity building efforts within the two countries’ comfort zones. This
might encompass some long-pending bilateral defence agreements. Such an
agreement could provide India disproportionate benefits, including better
communications systems, access to more intelligence, and enhanced operational
capabilities.
Considerable progress has been made in improving India-US
strategic and security relations. Officials from the two countries talk more
frankly on more issues than at any time in the past. Military exercises are
frequent and defence commerce has increased significantly. But through a
handful of key initiatives, India and the US can yet improve their ability to
meet the increasingly pressing challenge of preserving stability across the
Indo-Pacific.