Another Alliance Trump Didn’t Break U.S. and India will share intelligence as the China threat looms.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/another-alliance-trump-didnt-break-11604361129?mod=opinion_lead_pos4
Joe Biden has hit Donald Trump, sometimes fairly, for alienating U.S. allies. But one example of a bilateral relationship that has strengthened on Mr. Trump’s watch is with India, as demonstrated by a military intelligence-sharing pact signed last week.
Under the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, the U.S. will share maps and databases from the Defense Department’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). That could strengthen India’s defenses against its traditional rival, Pakistan. But more important to the U.S., it will help New Delhi balance Beijing’s bid to dominate Asia.
Indian leaders since the Cold War have been wary of strategic partnerships, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signed three military cooperation agreements with the U.S. since 2016. Chinese President Xi Jinping can’t be happy, but his actions are accelerating the trend. China has built up its naval presence in the Indian Ocean, defied maritime law in the South China Sea, and pressed territorial claims along India’s northern border, leading to a deadly clash in June.
U.S. satellite data, the best in the world, can identify Chinese troop movements and guide precision weapons. Many of India’s current weapons are Russian. But this agreement could encourage India to buy more interoperable American and allied systems, especially as Moscow moves closer to Beijing.
American interests in Asia have traditionally focused on Western Pacific countries like Japan and Korea. But in 2018 the U.S. changed the name of its Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command, reflecting South Asia’s strategic significance in competition with Beijing. China has leased land in the Maldives and Sri Lanka and depends on the Malacca Strait, adjacent to the Indian Ocean, for most oil imports.
China’s diplomatic and military actions over the last year have grown increasingly menacing, with its threats against Taiwan perhaps the most acute problem for the next U.S. President. Yet Washington’s closer cooperation with New Delhi shows that, even as Beijing throws its weight around, China is spurring a formidable coalition to resist.
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