Washington– A senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, one of Washington’s leading conservative think tanks, has urged the United States to “deepen and broaden defense cooperation” with India to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
In a new paper titled “The United States and India: A Call to Confront the Shared China Threat,” Robert Peters argued that Washington and New Delhi share a vital interest in preventing Beijing’s dominance. He wrote that India has every incentive to increase its naval capacity in the Indian Ocean, and the United States can assist through weapons sales, co-development of key military technologies, and joint diplomatic initiatives. Peters, who served as Special Advisor for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration, also recommended that Washington help India build a “strategy of denial” by increasing the sharing of naval intelligence.
The report highlighted drones as a crucial area of cooperation, noting that while U.S. drones are highly capable but expensive, India could produce lower-cost versions at scale to strengthen its defenses along the northern border with China. Peters added that defense trade could be mutually beneficial, pointing to India’s emerging defense industrial base and its potential role as a supplier of military hardware to Indo-Pacific and African nations. Such exports, he argued, would counter China’s growing footprint in those regions.
The call for deeper ties comes as U.S.-India defense cooperation remains strong despite differences over trade. Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Vinay Kwatra recently met visiting officers of India’s Armed Forces Medical Services in Washington to expand cooperation in military medicine, a key pillar of bilateral defense relations. He also met U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby at the Pentagon last month.
Peters cautioned that Washington should avoid criticizing India on domestic issues and instead focus on common strategic priorities. “India is an extremely critical partner of the United States, and both parties will lose out if the relationship is not maintained,” he warned. (Source: IANS)
