Depending on an Undependable US

India should deepen strategic and economic ties with Trump's DC, but be aware of its nationalist and revisionist avatar

- Prashant Jha

India's national interests lie in deepening ties with America. The rise of China at the doorstep, the role of capital and technology in industrialisation, employment generation and national security, the importance of shaping global norms and conversations, the benefit of insurance policies in geopolitically adverse times, the doors that open up by being friends with the system's most powerful player, and the need to ensure that one's own interests are not hurt (or are hurt as minimally as possible) dictate that India cultivates the US.

Washington DC remains - not fully but partly, and in conjunction with others - the most powerful international capital that can help Delhi meet its geopolitical and economic goals of security and prosperity.

And make no mistake, the US remains extraordinarily powerful. It has an approximately 25% share of global GDP, the world's most lethal military, the most transformative technologies of our times, and the richest corporations. It is often the decisive presence in every theatre and voice on every issue globally. It is hegemonic in the Americas; it is central to European security; it is on the verge of reshaping West Asian geopolitics; it is the central balancer to Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific; it takes responsibility for the security of treaty allies from North America to Europe to Asia to Australia; it is the most dominant actor in the strategic, civilian, and private sector in space; it has unprecedented ability to control high technology access and semiconductor supply chains; and it is the central driver of most multilateral organisations. Donald Trump has taken over this empire.

Therefore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warm phone call with Trump, external affairs minister S Jaishankar's two visits to Washington DC in the span of three weeks, his presence at Trump's inauguration and participation at a Quad meeting, are all essential diplomatic investments.