India-US ties ‘essential’ to this century, but Washington must not expect India to follow it: Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken at HTLS

Blinken said India and the US had been “estranged democracies for 50 years”. This changed over the next 25 years, starting towards the end of the Clinton admin.

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called the India-US partnership an essential part of the new century. He said Washington should not expect New Delhi to follow its lead, and that the US understood India’s long ties with Russia.

“I remain absolutely convinced that the relationship, partnership and strategic convergence between the United States and India are essential elements of this new century. It is a relationship that we must continue to pursue and deepen,” Blinken said at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. He was in conversation with Ambassador Javed Ashraf, chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation.

Blinken said the two countries had been “estranged democracies for 50 years”. That changed over the next 25 years, starting towards the end of the Clinton administration and continuing under both Republican and Democratic presidents. “We moved from estrangement to a genuine and, in some ways, unique partnership, built on a convergence of strategic interests,” he said. He added that the partnership is also “underpinned by the profound people-to-people connections between our societies.”

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He said nuclear cooperation was what “flipped the switch”. Technology should drive the next phase, he said, listing semiconductors, secure AI supply chains, space and quantum. “All of these things are a glue that will continue to get stronger.”

He was clear that the partnership did not mean India would fall in line. “We shouldn’t have an expectation that India is simply going to in some fashion model us or follow and do exactly what Washington thinks needs to be done on any initiative,” he said. “The notion of strategic autonomy I fully understand, because by history, by geography, by particular needs… there are going to be places where we don’t exactly hit the same track. The trick is to continue to build the trust and the mechanisms to manage where those differences are.”

On Russia, he said the US was not asking India to end the relationship. “We understand there is deep history between India and Russia,” he said. The aim was diversification in energy and defence supplies, with the door kept open.

He said recent strains came from “personalities” and from differences over tariffs and energy. He called it “very hypocritical” for the US to press India on Russia now, when Washington has itself waived sanctions on Russia. “But I think these pale in comparison to the larger strategic drivers,” he said, pointing to a free and open Indo-Pacific and the convergence of the two economies.

“I remain very, very bullish about this unique partnership. But it doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes commitment to continue to deepen it, strengthen it, and to manage through the places where we differ.”