Separately together: Indian and American approaches to China during the Trump era

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the convergence and divergence between India and the US pertaining to China under the Trump administration. Given Trump’s forceful personality and apparent chemistry with Modi, it is tempting to attribute bilateral relations to individual leaders. However, systemic pressures due to shared concerns over China’s rise and aggressive behavior played a significant role in keeping relations on track and ultimately deepening them. This led to increasing Indo-US cooperation in the Quad especially after the Galwan Valley cash in June 2020 although India initially feared entrapment. While there was convergence on the broad contours of the threat of a Sino-centric Asia, coming to agreement on specific strategies to prevent it faced its share of challenges with Trump wanting New Delhi to do more to counter China and do it faster. There was also divergence related to India’s continuing attachment to strategic autonomy underwritten by a multipolar world order, and Indian and American definitions of the boundaries of the Indo-Pacific and how the priority areas of each differed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ For a detailed discussion regarding Singer’s level of analysis see Introduction to the special issue.

² Calling for a hard containment strategy for India is Brahma Chellaney, “China Throws Down a Challenge to India,” Open, last modified June 26, 2020, https://openthemagazine.com/cover-story/china-throws-down-a-challenge-to-india/ (accessed July 20, 2022). Another version of Indian balancing is found in Rajesh Rajagopalan, “Evasive Balancing: India’s Unviable Indo-Pacific Strategy,” International Affairs 96, no. 1 (2020): 75–93.

³ Xi Jinping, “Speech delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” Xinhuanet, October 18, 2017, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/download/Xi_Jinping’s_report_at_19th_CPC_National_Congress.pdf (accessed October 20, 2022).

⁴ Manjeet S. Pardesi, “The Initiation of the Sino-Indian rivalry,” Asian Security 15, no. 3 (2019), 253–284.

⁵ Raj Verma and Mihaela Papa, “BRICS amidst India-China Rivalry,” Global Policy 12, no. 4 (2021): 509–513.

⁶ Raj Verma, “China’s new security concept: India, terrorism, China’s geostrategic interests and domestic stability in Pakistan,” The Pacific Review 33, no. 6 (2020): 991–1021.

⁷ Christian Wagner, “The Role of India and China in South Asia,” Strategic Analysis 40, no. 4 (2016): 307–320.; and Derek Grossman, “China Isn’t Backing Down in South Asia,” The RAND Blog, last modified December 30, 2020 https://www.rand.org/blog/2020/12/china-isnt-backing-down-in-south-asia.html (accessed July 11, 2022).

⁸ Deepa Ollapally, “When Rising Powers Clash: Face-Offs versus Face-Saving in China-India Relations, East Asia Forum, last updated July 29, 2020 https://www.eastasiaforum.org/author/deepa-ollapally/ (accessed July 15, 2022).

⁹ See Chellaney, “China Throws Down a Challenge to India”; Virin Mohan, “Re-energizing Indian Security in the Indo-Pacific, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, last modified August 1, 2022 https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3111112/reenergizing-indian-security-in-the-indian-ocean-region-analyzing-the-security/ (accessed November 9, 2022).

¹⁰ The Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, United States Department of Defense, July 1, 2019 https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/01/2002152311/-1/-1/1/DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-INDO-PACIFIC-STRATEGY-REPORT-2019.PDF, 7.

¹¹ Ibid, 21.

¹² Lalit K. Jha, “Need to Be a Net Security Provider in Indo-Pacific: Trump Admin,” Rediff, last modified September 7, 2017, https://www.rediff.com/news/report/defense-ties-with-india-vital-trump-admin-to-congress/20170907.htm (accessed July 10, 2022).

¹³ Ashley Tellis, “The Surprising Success of the U.S.-Indian Partnership,” Foreign Affairs, last modified February 20, 2020, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/india/2020-02-20/surprising-success-us-indian-partnership (accessed July 15, 2022).

¹⁴ Neha Arora and Sanjeev Miglani, “U.S. Warns of Threat Posed by China,” Reuters, last updated October 27, 2020 https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-asia-india/u-s-warns-of-threat-posed-by-china-signs-military-pact-with-india-idUSKBN27C0OF (accessed July 8, 2022).

¹⁵ Patrick Buchen and Benjamin Rimland, “The Past, Present and Future of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue,” CSIS Briefs, last modified March 16, 2020 https://www.csis.org/analysis/defining-diamond-past-present-and-future-quadrilateral-security-dialogue (accessed July 11, 2022).

¹⁶ Tanvi Madan, “The U.S. and Doklam: Look Beyond the Rhetoric,” last modified September 26, 2017 https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2017/09/26/the-us-and-doklam-look-beyond-rhetoric/ (accessed July 8, 2022).

¹⁷ For a detailed discussion regarding the evolution of India’s multi-alignment policy see Ian Hall, “Multialignment and Indian Foreign Policy under Narendra Modi,” The Round Table, 105, no. 3 (2016): 271–286.

¹⁸ Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, The India way: Strategies for an uncertain world (Noida: Harper Collins, 2020).

¹⁹ Arshad Zargar, “Trump Offers to Mediate,” CBS News, updated May 28, 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-india-border-dispute-donald-trump-offers-mediate-raging-standoff-but-what-is-it-all-about/ (accessed July 8, 2022).

²⁰ “India Gently Rebuffs Trump’s Mediation Offer,” The Wire, last updated May 28, 2020, https://thewire.in/external-affairs/india-china-border-trump-mediation (accessed July 8, 2022).

²¹ “Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference,” last modified May 29, 2020, http://hr.china-embassy.org/eng/fyrth/202005/t20200529_2591367.htm (accessed July 9, 2022).

²² “No Outside Arbitration to Resolve China-India Border Row,” Times of India, last modified September 30, 2014, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-outside-arbitration-to-resolve-China-India-border-row-PM/articleshow/43839932.cms (accessed July 10, 2022).

²³ “China Capable of Defeating India: Expert,” Global Times, last modified August 16, 2017, https://en.huanqiu.com/china-capable-of-defeating-india-expert/ (accessed July 10, 2022).

²⁴ Ministry of Defense 2017–1018 Annual Report, Government of India, 4.

²⁵ Shubajit Roy, “Jaishankar and Wang Agree,” Indian Express, last modified September 12, 2020, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-china-border-dispute-jaishankar-wang-yi-agreement-ladakh-lac-deescalation-statement-6591472/ (accessed July 9, 2022).

²⁶ Ibid.

²⁷ “Pakistan and China Seriously Concerned,” The EurAsian Times, last modified October 28, 2020, https://eurasiantimes.com/pakistan-china-seriously-concerned-after-india-signs-geospatial-pact-with-the-united-states/ (accessed July 10, 2022).

²⁸ Yang Xiyu, “U.S., India Diverge on Indo-Pacific Strategy,” Global Times, last modified March 2, 2020, https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1181330.shtml (accessed July 11, 2022).

²⁹ “Statement of Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., U.S. Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, March 15, 2018, 2, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Harris_03-15-18.pdf (accessed July 11, 2022).

³⁰ Vijay Sakhuja, “Indian Navy: a ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in the Indian Ocean,” India Narrative, last updated January 24, 2021https://www.indianarrative.com/india-news/indian-navy-a-preferred-security-partner-in-the-indian-ocean-63358.html (accessed July 12, 2022); Drorima Chatterjee and Ashwin Dhanabalan, “Maritime Security Challenges in the Indo-Pacific: American and Indian Views on Threats and Responses,” Policy Brief, Rising Powers Initiative, George Washington University, Washington D.C., June 2, 2022, https://www.risingpowersinitiative.org/publication/maritime-security-challenges-in-the-indo-pacific/ (accessed July 8, 2022).