India, US share a vision for the future

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in June highlighted the many areas of cooperation that are already underway in this new area of our strategic relationship.

Our defence ties are growing. We are coordinating our counterterrorism efforts more than ever before. And earlier this month, a shipment of American crude oil arrived in India, a tangible illustration of our expanding energy cooperation. The Trump administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the US and India to further this partnership.

For us today, it’s plain to see why this matters. India represents the world’s largest democracy. The driving force of our close relationship rests in the ties between our peoples — our citizens, business leaders, and our scientists.

Nearly 1.2 million American visitors travelled to India last year. More than 166,000 Indian students are studying in the US. And nearly four million Indian Americans call the US home, contributing to their communities as doctors, engineers and innovators, and proudly serving their country in uniform.

As our economies grow closer, we find more opportunities for prosperity for our people. More than 600 American companies operate in India. US foreign direct investment has jumped by 500 per cent in the past two years alone. And last year, our bilateral trade hit a record of roughly $115 billion, a number we plan to increase.

Together, we have built a sturdy foundation of economic cooperation as we look for more avenues of expansion. The announcement of the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit ever to be hosted in South Asia, to take place in Hyderabad next month, is a clear example of how Trump and Modi are promoting innovation, expanding job opportunities, and finding new ways to strengthen both of our economies.

When our militaries conduct joint exercises, we send a powerful message as to our commitment to protecting the global commons and defending our people. This year’s Malabar exercise was our most complex to date. The largest vessels from American, Indian and Japanese navies demonstrated their power together in the Indian Ocean for the first time, setting a clear example of the combined strength of the three Indo-Pacific democracies. We hope to add others in coming years.

In keeping with India’s status as a Major Defence Partner — a status overwhelmingly endorsed last year by the US Congress – and our mutual interest in expanding maritime cooperation, the Trump administration has offered a menu of defence options for India’s consideration, including the Guardian UAV. We value the role India can play in global security and stability and are prepared to ensure they have even greater capabilities.

And over the past decade, our counterterrorism cooperation has expanded significantly. Thousands of Indian security personnel have trained with American counterparts to enhance their capacity. The US and India are cross-screening known and suspected terrorists, and later this year we will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations.

In July, I signed the designation of Hizbul Mujahideen as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation because the US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. States that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation and standing diminish. It is the obligation, not the choice, of every civilised nation to combat the scourge of terrorism. The US and India are leading this effort in that region.

But another more profound transformation is taking place, one that will have far-reaching implications for the next 100 years: The US and India are increasingly global partners with growing strategic convergence. Indians and Americans don’t just share an affinity for democracy. We share a vision of the future.

The emerging Delhi-Washington strategic partnership stands upon a shared commitment upholding the rule of law, freedom of navigation, universal values and free trade. Our nations are two bookends of stability — on either side of the globe — standing for greater security and prosperity for our citizens and people around the world.

The challenges and dangers we face are substantial. The scourge of terrorism and the disorder sown by cyberattacks threaten peace everywhere. North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missiles pose a clear and imminent threat to the security of the US, our Asian allies and all other nations. And the very international order that has benefited India’s rise — and that of many others — is increasingly under strain.

China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations’ sovereignty. China’s provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the US and India both stand for.

The US seeks constructive relations with China, but we will not shrink from China’s challenges to the rules-based order and where China subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries and disadvantages the US and our friends.

In this period of uncertainty and somewhat angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage. I want to make clear: With our shared values and vision for global stability, peace, and prosperity, the US is that partner.

And with India’s youth, its optimism, its powerful democratic example, and its increasing stature on the world stage, it makes perfect sense that the US — at this time — should seek to build on the strong foundation of our years of cooperation with India. It is indeed time to double down on a democratic partner that is still rising — and rising responsibly — for the next 100 years.

But above all, the world — and the Indo-Pacific in particular — needs the US and India to have a strong partnership. India and the US must, as the Indian saying goes, “do the needful”. (Laughter.)

Our two countries can be the voice the world needs to be, standing firm in defence of a rules-based order to promote sovereign countries’ unhindered access to the planet’s shared spaces, be they on land, at sea, or in cyberspace. In particular, India and the US must foster greater prosperity and security with the aim of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Edited excerpts from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s remarks on “Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century” at the Center for Srategic and International Studies in Washington DC on October 18