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Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Conference Proceedings on Indian and U.S. Security Cooperation
John V. Parachini, Rafiq Dossani, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Richard S. Girven, Yusuf Unjhawala..

Weapon exports and the provision of security and military services abroad by China and Russia serve as a means for both countries to extend their influence around the globe. How do such activities affect India — an emerging great power — and what do they mean for India-U.S. security cooperation?

A conference held on June 30 and July 1, 2022, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, was part of an ongoing project focusing on these questions. Participants explored Indian and U.S. views on important security issues across the Indo-Pacific and sought to identify areas of mutual interest and disagreement.

Discussions were informed by six papers — three from the RAND Corporation and three from the Observer Research Foundation — that discussed common approaches to bilateral security cooperation, Russian arms sales to India, and the challenges posed by China to regional security. This report contains those papers, along with a summary of the issues discussed.

Key Findings

Participants acknowledged transformational changes in India-U.S. relations, identified security-related areas in which to collaborate, and recognized impediments to cooperation to address

  • India wishes to lessen its dependency on Russia, develop its own defense ecosystem, and diversify its defense trade partners. This should present opportunities for the United States, but issues need to be addressed.
  • Indian colleagues stressed strengthening defense cooperation networks across micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises and startups to create sustainable supply chains.
  • Both countries should look for opportunities to advance logistics support and intelligence-sharing for military exercises and maritime operations, promote freedom of navigation, guarantee safe overflight, enforce antipiracy law, address drug trafficking, and enhance controls over the proliferation of materials and technology for weapons of mass destruction.
  • Both countries view China as a collaborator, competitor, and adversary. They also see the Quad (dialogue between the United States, Australia, Japan, and India) as being useful for security cooperation. India desires multilateral initiatives with the Quad and with Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to counter China's militarization in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean regions.
  • Participants recognized the humanitarian challenges in Afghanistan and that each government is taking steps corresponding to its abilities. The two countries should cooperate in counterterrorism efforts and share intelligence about the terrorist groups moving in and out of the area until the Taliban meets three requirements of the international community.
  • Both countries have a strong desire to convene a similar dialogue in the future.

Table of Contents

  • Appendix A

    Conference Schedule

  • Appendix B

    U.S. Security Cooperation with India: The Road Less Traveled

  • Appendix C

    The Making of an India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership

  • Appendix D

    America's Indian Ocean Imperative: Integrating a Two-Ocean Strategy

  • Appendix E

    Power Play in the Indian Ocean: Assessing India's Maritime Strategy

  • Appendix F

    Indian Equities and Strategy in Afghanistan

  • Appendix G

    Major Power Equities in Afghanistan: Drifting to Relative Normalcy or State Collapse?

Sourced from https://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CFA2613-1.html

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