India an ‘essential’ U.S. partner in Indo-Pacific, its rise is good for American interests, says top Pentagon official

India and the U.S. desire an Indo-Pacific in which no one power can dominate, said a senior Pentagon official, but did not make any reference to the Quad while detailing the Trump administration’s policy for the region.

The official, U.S. Assistant Secretary in the Department of War (formerly Department of Defense) Elbridge Colby, is visiting Delhi amidst the war in West Asia, and spoke a day ahead of his talks with Ministry of Defence officials in the Defence Policy Group on Wednesday. While his speech praised India as an “essential partner” in the region, he said both countries had differences but did not need to agree on everything to “cooperate effectively”.

“America’s objective is to build a partnership between two great republics that will form critical pillars of maintaining a favourable and stable balance of power in this critical region,” Mr. Colby told an audience of diplomats and foreign policy thinkers in Delhi. “A strong, confident India is not only good for the Indian people. It is good for Americans as well,” he said. 

Strategic position

Mr. Colby added that India’s importance in the Indo-Pacific region stems from its size and economic potential, and also from its geography and strategic position. 

“India possesses a long tradition of strategic autonomy and a growing capacity to shape events well beyond its borders. It is the largest republic in the world. Its success thus carries profound symbolic and political weight. It has formidable, self-reliant and capable military forces willing and able to shoulder significant security responsibilities,” he said, comparing “vigorous, self-assured states” favourably to those “with dependencies”. 

Mr. Colby’s mention of India’s rise being in the U.S.’s interests follows close on the heels of a controversial speech by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau earlier this month, where he had said the U.S. would not support India’s economic rise as it did with China in the 2000s.

Speaking at the recent Raisina Dialogue, Mr. Landau said: “India should understand that we are not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago in terms of saying, we are going to let you develop all these markets, and then, the next thing we know, you are beating us in a lot of commercial things.” His comments had led to sharp criticism in Delhi.

While Mr. Colby’s remarks may be an attempt at damage control, he is expected to face some difficult questions on U.S. strategy during his meetings in Delhi, as the visit comes three weeks into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, and the resultant energy and fertilizer shortages in India. In addition, reports that the U.S. and Iran could use Pakistan as a mediator or as a venue for talks have been a cause for concern.

The Opposition has also taken aim at the Modi government over the reports, with Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh saying India’s position had been undermined due to the government’s foreign policy. Mr. Colby’s lack of any reference to the Australia-India-Japan-U.S. quadrilateral, or Quad will also worry New Delhi, which hoped to host U.S. President Donald Trump for the Quad Summit this year.

In his speech, Mr. Colby also referred to interests as more important to values for the U.S. administration. “Our approach to the strategic partnership is interests-based and realistic, shaped by geopolitics and incentives as opposed to gauzy aspirations or detached idealism,” noting that India too is “not shy” about advancing its own interests and priorities.