Wie man das Beste aus der US-indischen Verteidigungspartnerschaft herausholt

SS: Upon taking office, President Donald Trump threatened reciprocal duties against “tariff king” India, sent a cargo plane of undocumented migrants back to India, and cancelled a sanctions waiver for an Indian port. This may not seem auspicious for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington this week. But it’s not nearly as bad as it looks. Despite tough messaging during a call between Trump and Modi last week, growing U.S.-Indian defense cooperation will provide the ballast to the relationship. This was previewed by the two readouts of the recent call between Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The first Trump administration made great strides on defense cooperation with India, as did the Biden administration. India is poised to play an important role in deterring Chinese aggression and enhancing stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific. The second Trump administration has an opportunity to take this relationship to new heights and help India play that stabilizing role by advancing defense technology cooperation, enhancing joint military operational cooperation, and updating and reinvigorating the bilateral defense framework. Doing so will require both countries to break old habits and push the envelope of cooperation.