U.S.-China Tensions Resurface in Delhi, Following 1971 Incident
The strategic relationship between India, the United States, and China has experienced a significant shift in recent years, shaped by historical conflicts, shifting alliances, and contemporary geopolitical competition.
Historically, India and China have had a contentious relationship marked by border disputes and military clashes. Despite these tensions, China was India's largest trading partner between 2008 and 2021, indicating substantial economic engagement alongside strategic rivalry. India has been wary of China’s close relations with Pakistan and its support to separatist groups, while China is concerned about India's activities in the South China Sea and Tibetan exile communities.
India has traditionally pursued a non-aligned foreign policy, but it shares democratic governance models with the U.S. and has in recent decades moved closer strategically to Washington, mainly as a counterbalance to China’s rise. This alignment includes participation in the Quad (with the U.S., Japan, and Australia), a security dialogue aimed at maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. India has diversified its military suppliers, reducing reliance on Russia and increasing acquisitions from the U.S., France, and Israel. The U.S.-India relationship strengthened under multiple administrations with growing cooperation on defense, technology (including semiconductor investment), and regional security.
However, recent developments in 2025 indicate a strain in U.S.-India relations, partially fueled by the U.S. imposing tariffs on Indian imports and penalizing India for purchasing Russian oil, complicating their strategic partnership. Simultaneously, India appears to be tilting somewhat toward China, partly because of frustrations with inconsistent U.S. policies and conflicting regional priorities. While India remains committed to countering China’s assertiveness and maintaining regional stability with partners like Australia and Japan, it is clearly navigating a delicate balance, asserting its strategic autonomy and not fully aligning with either power.
The pivot of defense and foreign affairs between Delhi and Moscow remains, but there is a growing need for India to assert its economic and security self-interest. Unscrupulous Indian traders are undervaluing imported goods from China and selling them at high prices in the domestic market, posing an obstacle to the government's firm action on economic issues. The age of imperialism, of being subservient to the West, is over, and India must act in accordance with its own economic and security self-interest.
In summary, the trilateral dynamics are shaped by India’s effort to maintain sovereignty and strategic autonomy amid deepening U.S.-China rivalry, with ongoing competition and conflict with China balanced against a once-strong but increasingly fraught partnership with the U.S. India must carefully navigate this delicate balance, avoiding the traps set by external powers and asserting its own interests on the global stage.
References:
- The Diplomat
- CNN
- India Today
- The Economic Times
- The Hindu
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