India has opted for a tight embrace with the US during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the country, where potential economic gains appeared to outweigh its age-old ties with traditional ally, Russia.
Modi, during a joint address to the press corps at the White House after his one-on-one meeting with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, sprung a surprise.
Unprompted, he made reference to Russia’s ongoing military operation, which entered its second year on February 24.
Modi offered India’s help to resolve the conflict and restore peace, while stopping short of naming Russia as the aggressor. The comment was music to President Biden’s ears, whose usual impassive expression could not contain his uncontrolled glee.
Modi lapped up lavish praise from the Biden administration, as expectations of Indo-US ties “reaching escape velocity” rent the air and the Indian PM heightened the hyperbole by adding that the “sky is not the limit” in the bilateral engagement.
And, Russia did not top the agenda until Modi, as if on cue from Biden, spoke about the conflict with Ukraine.
It was abundantly clear that the US had laid out a red carpet for Modi in a bid to isolate New Delhi from Moscow, with bountiful incentives and path-breaking new partnerships in the defense, semiconductor manufacturing, space and artificial intelligence sectors. A liberalization of the strict H1B visa regime, as well as the opening of US consulates in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru and an Indian consulate in Seattle are also on the cards.
In a quid pro quo, placating India suited the US cause. Washington is looking to strengthen its crucial – albeit complicated – ties with the country, where the battle lines between the Western powers and the Russia and China-led blocs have been clearly demarcated. Biden, who like Modi is making a re-election bid next year, is willing to take his chances with India’s right-wing, Hindu nationalist, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
The Modi government’s 'human rights record' has drawn flak from Biden’s Democrat colleagues. However, he is willing to hedge his bets in a bid to cement Indo-US ties that appear to have come full circle from “estrangement to deepening engagement.”
Biden said he believes the bilateral ties “will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century. Since I’ve become president, we’ve continued to build a relationship built on mutual trust, candor and respect.”
The Modi government, since it came to power in 2014, has been consistently criticized by multiple US officials and media for its record on political, religious and press freedoms. Despite that, the world's most populous democracy now appears to have emerged as the hottest destination for US companies following Washington’s rapidly worsening ties with China.
Both nations are battling a common enemy in an ascendent China, especially in the Indo-Pacific, coupled with other pressing global issues such as climate change, AI, supply chain resilience and other issues.
Biden stopped short of lecturing the Indian PM on alleged human rights violations – as announced earlier by the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan – while reminding Modi that the partnership must be “grounded on democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of law.” Modi, for his part, broke a tradition on Thursday, which he has kept since he took office in 2014, by agreeing to take part in a formal press conference along with President Biden.
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