Webinar on ‘Shared Worldviews and US-India Relations in the Indo-Pacific and Beyond.’

On 29th April, the Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ (Deemed to be University) conducted a Virtual International Conference on ‘Shared Worldviews and US-India Relations in the Indo-Pacific and Beyond.’ This event was conducted in collaboration with the Rising Power Initiative, Elliot School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, Washington D.C. Dr Deepa Ollapally, Director, Rising Power Initiative, Elliot School of International Affairs, was the moderator for the event. The event began with the Keynote address given by Dr Fr. Jose CC, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Christ (Deemed to be University). The panellists for the event were Alyssa Ayres, Dean, Elliot School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; Daniel Twining, President, International Republican Institute; Joshua White, Associate Professor of Practice of South Asian Studies; and Richard M Rossow, Senior Adviser and Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Discussants for the event were Dr Madhumati Deshpande, Coordinator, Department of International Studies, Political Science and History and Dr Manoharan N, Associate Professor, Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ, (Deemed to be University). Ms Ayres in her opening remarks briefly touched upon the worsening Covid-19 health crisis in India and to how this point in time is an immense opportunity for both the nations to showcase how a formal diplomatic relationship has culminated into a bilateral relationship across various avenues. For the United States, India is a strong pillar of support in defence cooperation and a major ally in the Indo-Pacific region. She also mentioned the Indian diaspora which at present is four million strong and occupies high positions in American leadership. However, according to Ms Ayres despite being the world’s largest democracies India and the USA do not perceive all issues in the same manner; perceptions of global geo-politics vary, India believes in a multipolar world order whereas the US is happy with the status quo. On the foreign policy front, while the USA supports detailed discussions on democratic values, New Delhi has often perceived it as a sort of interference in India’s domestic affairs. The speaker also mentioned that the need of the hour is for the USA to practice what it preaches at home; abroad and for India to have a more open democracy. Finally, Ms Ayres concluded her speech by stating how it is immensely important to address the asymmetry in the cultural and academic change in the Indo-US relationship. Daniel Twining highlighted the current situation of the pandemic in India and elaborated on the shared values of democracy and the respect for the rules-based international system that both countries share. He further pointed out that although both the democracies cannot be called perfect democracies, the participation of the people in the governance of the respective countries is something important. He pointed out that India has had bipartisan support in the US and the shared values between India and the US can go a long way in cementing their relationships in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The third speaker, Joshua White, talked about India-US Defence and Security partnership in the Indo-Pacific region. He stated India-US’ Defence and Security relationship as strong. He discussed the Civil Nuclear agreement, both countries shared perspective on terrorism and shared views and concerns about the threat that China might pose in the region as the foundational reasons for their better relationship. This relationship is further made stronger by the collective military exercises, India’s purchase of US equipment, sharing of technology, and other investments in the area. India-US, over decades, have put agreements on logistics, intelligence, and other areas that allow both countries to work together. He further discussed the opportunities that India and the US need to explore in defence and a few challenges, including India’s budget strain in defence that obstructs its capabilities to expand. Thus, in his short lecture, he covered all the important aspects necessary for the two countries. The last speaker Richard M Rossow spoke on post-Pandemic economics. He began by discussing the pre-pandemic commercial relations between India and the US as good and growing. But at the same time, there existed a trade war in the form of protectionism between the two governments. During the pandemic, things got worse initially as bilateral trade sunk. India’s position fell to 11th from 9th as the US’ largest trading partner, and China surpassed the US as India’s top trade partner. However, the IT services remain strong and remains a bedrock for US-India commercial relations. In the post-pandemic era, the speaker believes commercial relations to be emerging. Both governments are headed in different directions; both governments remain very protectionist; thus, difficulties will remain. Nevertheless, both governments need to find a pathway to cope. He also argued about India’s new data localization rules, which might discourage American companies from investing in India. However, consumer markets of both these countries are so huge and lucrative; thus, despite differences, trade relations will grow. The first discussant for the session, Dr Deshpande after providing her perspective on the topic, put forth some interesting questions to panellists. According to her, apart from the shared values, what are the things that the United States expects India to do to strengthen its alliance, not as a military partner but as a companion in the region; What does India have to do to increase the trust of the US; and Does the US see India as a democratic partner in the South Asian region? The second discussant of the session, Dr Manoharan N reflected on the previous discussions and gave his opinion and put forward some thought-provoking questions such as what is the US’ involvement in the infrastructural development in and around India; How committed is the US to the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor as an alternative to the BRI in the region; although, both the countries have a shared perspective on terrorism, are the two countries sharing the same perspective on the causes of terrorism; cropping up protectionist trade policies in India-US trade relations and cooperation in the field of renewable sources of energy. The panellists addressed all the questions put forward by the discussants as well as the participants in the conference. The panellists emphasised the need for an enhanced level of cooperation in commercial and defence relations between both countries. The session came to an end with Dr Vagishwari Sp, Professor, Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, delivering the formal Vote of Thanks. This report was compiled by Kasvi Batra of 2 MAIS and Hemalahari of 4 MAIS. Jogita Rajbongshi and Yaqoob Saleem of 4 MAIS also contributed to this report