The China challenge: a strategic vision for US-India relations

• Additionally, the U.S. should consider engaging the Indian navy in such areas as anti-submarine warfare training and ocean surveillance capabilities. Improvements in these areas would help to reassure India, especially in the event of a growing PLA naval presence.
• Remain engaged with the smaller South Asian states and fully exercise its observer role in the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The U.S. needsto remain focused on its relations with Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh so that these nations do not perceive China as the main economic and political game in town. India is clearly the dominant power in South Asia, but China is making new inroads with these countries that could come at the expense of stability and democratic trends in the region. The U.S. should participate fully in SAARC gatherings and ensure that its presence and influence are felt throughout the region.
• Increase cooperation with India to address cyber security threats.In December 2009, more than 200 computers belonging to top-ranking Indian government officials, including three service chiefs and former National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, were compromised in a hacking operation that originated in China. The U.S. and India have been slow to seize opportunities for cooperating on cyber security issues. The two sides should explore joint efforts to monitor foreign investments in critical Internet technologies and telecommunications in order to establish a means of sharing pertinent cyber threat and vulnerability information to enhance the mutual security of their networks.
• Keep strategic messaging in the region consistent. The Administration faltered in 2009 when it promoted U.S.–China "cooperation" in South Asia as part of the U.S.–China Joint Statement. South Asia constitutes India's immediate neighborhood, and America's interests in the region are far more aligned with India than they are with China. Stabilizing Afghanistan and ensuring that it never again becomes a safe haven for international terrorists is one example of the convergence of U.S.–Indian strategic interests in the region. If the U.S. is to forge a lasting partnership with India, it must start by recognizing India's predominant interests in South Asia, even as it promotes peace, stability, and economic progress throughout the Subcontinent.

Conclusion

Sino–Indian tension, particularly over unresolved border issues and naval competition in the Indian Ocean, will persist in the years ahead and could even precipitate armed conflict, although this remains a relatively remote possibility. The U.S. must seek to build closer strategic and defense ties with India, both to help maintain a peaceful equilibrium in the region and to help deter any potential aggressive action by China.

India's decision to forego American planes to fulfill its fighter aircraft needs has added a dose of realism to Indo–U.S. relations. Nevertheless, the complex challenge presented by a rising China will inevitably drive the U.S. and India to elevate ties and increase cooperation across a broad range of sectors in years to come. There is a great deal the U.S. can do, carefully and deliberately, to facilitate this natural confluence of strategic interests.