What is going wrong with India-U.S. ties, often celebrated by both sides as a definitive partnership of the 21st century? Is this just a glitch caused by a strident strain of American nationalism and its volatile champion, President Donald Trump, or is the current turmoil a sign of structural tensions that had been simmering beneath the rhetoric?
Last week, only days ahead of the meltdown, this is how a State Department official described the prospects of ties with India to The Hindu: “The U.S.-India relationship is both strong and a high priority for the administration. The U.S. has long-term, strategic interests in partnering with India, including cooperating on space, defence, energy, trade, and technology. In the first six months of this administration, President Trump and Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi announced the COMPACT Initiative, and we’ve seen numerous high-level touch points between our leaders from the White House to cabinet officials. This shows the dedication the Trump administration has to the U.S.-India relationship.”
