A US Perspective

Obama’s visit to India for Republic Day in January 2015 found Modi ready to embrace the United States as India’s premier international partner. Unlike their predecessors, India’s aspirational generation is not shy of closer US ties. The United States can play a pivotal role in helping India prepare against a long-term Chinese military challenge, while serving as a singular source of capital and technology. India stands to lose from any US retreat from Asia. Modi and Obama discussed reinforcing Asia’s fragile security architecture by invigorating a quadrilateral partnership. They agreed on a joint vision document for the Asia-Pacific that defined common strategic interests in the region stretching from East Africa to East Asia, and underscored joint objectives of maintaining freedom of Asia’s maritime commons under pressure from armed Chinese revisionism.