Former US President Barack Obama described the United States and Indian partnership as the most important of the 21st century, based on shared values and common interests. However, the relationship is often described as a strategic partnership, not an alliance.

Various factors contributed to the fall of the unnatural partnership between Washington and New Delhi. The most prominent among them was the US officially unveiling the Indian plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader and concerns over the domestic policies of the Modi administration. Similarly, the recent visit of Modi to Moscow further deteriorated Indo-US relations.

Obama described the United States and Indian partnership as the most important of the 21st century.

In retrospect, the United States and India enjoyed friendly relations until the signing of the Soviet-Indo 20-year friendship treaty in 1970. Indian Prime Minister Nehru initially sowed the seeds of amicable ties between the US and India during his visit to the US in 1949. The 1962 conflict between China and India further strengthened US-Indian relations, as the US provided military and logistical support to India.

However, policy elites in India expressed alarm over Pakistan’s move towards joining the bloc of capitalists—led by the West. India understood the seriousness of the situation and, in order to gain benefits from both and safeguard its own national interests, encouraged non-alignment from the US-led capitalist and the Soviet Union-led communist blocs during the early phases of the Cold War.

The end of the Cold War resulted in the improvement of Indo-US ties; however, it was not long-lasting due to the Indian experiment of a nuclear explosion in 1998, which led to economic sanctions on India. The turning point in the relationship between India and the US was the signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002, which committed both nations to work together to improve their relationship.

India’s perceived hypocritical role in QUAD pushed the rest of the three QUAD countries to form another alliance named SQUAD.

Furthermore, the US, led by Barack Obama, and India, led by Manmohan Singh, struck a civilian nuclear agreement that allowed India to meet its nuclear energy needs even though India had not joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) — a group of forty-eight nuclear supplier countries that seek to propagate the nuclear export for peaceful purposes and discourage nuclear-related export for military purposes.

The interests of the US and India diverge on many fronts. To highlight some, India’s relations with Russia have further strained US-India relations. India’s continuous reluctance to criticize Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and its purchase of Russian oil despite sanctions have badly impacted relations between Washington and New Delhi.

Most recently, Modi, on the eve of his visit to Russia, received the Russian highest award ‘The Order of St Andrew’ from the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, which irritated the US-led Western bloc and resulted in a warning from the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, to not take the US-India relations for granted.

India’s continuous reluctance to criticize Russia for the invasion of Ukraine… has badly impacted relations between Washington and New Delhi.

Through the abovementioned visit of Modi, Putin tried to refute the impression of long Russian isolation—propagated by the Western bloc. Similarly, strong criticism also came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who expressed disappointment and called this meetup a blow to the peace effort.

Additionally, the US officially unveiled a plot to assassinate the US-based Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and warned the Modi administration about transnational terrorism, highlighting tensions. The unveiling of this incident depicts the unnatural partnership between the US and India. Before this plot, the US also criticized the Indian administration over the allegation by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the killing of Hardeep Sing Nijjar in September 2023.

On a similar note, the US has repeatedly shown concern over the domestic policies of the Modi administration, such as the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Aam Admi Party head Arvind Kejriwal just before the general elections and the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which discourages Muslims from the subcontinent from becoming permanent citizens of India.

The only factor that pushes both countries to work together is the continuous rise of China’s assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.

The most celebrated alliance, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) in the Asia-Pacific among the US, India, Australia, and Japan, has also seen a plethora of issues in reaching a single decision to respond robustly to rivals like Russia and China. Due to India’s close ties with Russia, QUAD countries did not reach a consensus to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine in a joint statement on the eve of the QUAD premiers meeting and in the recent foreign ministers meeting. India’s perceived hypocritical role in QUAD pushed the rest of the three QUAD countries to form another alliance in the broader Asia Pacific named SQUAD, which includes the Philippines.

Despite these issues, both India and the US have only a convergence of interest in terms of dealing with China in the perceived Indo-Pacific region. The continuous rise of China in that region is not only threatening the hegemony of the US, but also India sees this as a threat to its national interest in the region. For this purpose, both countries have signed various military and non-military pacts, which include the Logistic Exchange of Memorandum of Agreements LEMOA, under which both countries can capitalize on the port’s presence in the region, both for military and civilian purposes.

The second of such agreement includes the Communication and Compatibility Security Agreement (COMCASA), under which the US provides India with sophisticated communication technology. Similarly, the last of three defense agreements was signed in 2018 named the Basic Exchange of Communication Agreements (BECA), which meant the sharing of satellite information. Through BECA, India will be able to utilize the presence of four thousand US satellites in space.

Through BECA, India will be able to utilize the presence of four thousand US satellites in space.

The relations between the US and India are characterized by a partnership rather than an alliance. Both have disagreements on various geopolitical issues; however, the only factor that pushes both countries to work together is the continuous rise of China’s assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. Washington and New Delhi are determined to counter the growing assertiveness of China by joining hands together in the Asia-Pacific region.