Despite Washington’s efforts to gain India’s unwavering support for its rebalancing or so-called pivot to the Asia-Pacific, New Delhi’s backing nevertheless remains reluctant. At first glance, China’s growing assertiveness in the region would seem to make a stronger U.S. presence in Asia firmly in India’s interest. Indeed, some Indian diplomats have welcomed the U.S. move, especially in private. There has been no clear endorsement, however, by top political authorities and none is likely to come. The direction of Indo-U.S. relations is greatly dependent on whichever school of thought currently dominates India’s foreign policy landscape. The question of what the U.S. pivot means for India and how New Delhi should respond has sharpened a debate that has now been underway for more than a decade.
The biggest split within this domestic debate is between those who consider America’s rebalancing as a strategic concern and those who see it as a strategic opportunity. To the extent that domestic debates are precursors to shifts in actual policy, mapping various possible trajectories as they are discussed in the domestic space is likely to provide an understanding of future shifts in Indian foreign policy. These debates thus provide important clues to both the current ambivalence and future directions of India’s strategic policy.
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By Deepa M. Ollapally, GWU and Yogesh Joshi, Jawaharlal Nehru University
