Over the years, India earned the epithet of a reluctant power in Asia – exuberant in its aspirations, yet guarded in its strategy. However, as the challenges in its immediate neighborhood and beyond continue to evolve, India is today gearing up to embrace a larger role in the far wider theatre of the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. has been a principal architect and the traditional guarantor of a liberal economic and maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. While the commentariat in the U.S. and India might express apprehension at the idea of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy, this moment must be seen as an opportunity to rebalance the Indo-U.S. relationship to reflect a real convergence of strategic interests, as opposed to an abstract engagement based on values alone and one that has disregarded the core interests of both countries. As it remains an invested actor across the Middle East and in Afghanistan, and as it confronts an unrelenting North Korea, it must seek to empower regional like-minded nations such as India, which it recognizes as having an “indispensable role in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region.”
