Extra US initiative in our neighbourhood after 2+2 talks

The 2+2 dialogue between India and the US—in the midst of a pandemic, and a hard-fought presidential election campaign—is not an event without significance. That a physical meeting is taking place when virtual interactions are the norm underlines the importance the US administration attaches to carrying on this high-level dialogue, of which  this represents the third edition.

It also clarifies that the mutual objective of sustaining robust bilateral relations is not particularly dependent on election outcomes: It is bipartisan. Before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper leave New Delhi, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement may be inked. 

Termed a foundational pact, BECA would ensure “geospatial information flow” between the two armies and defence establishments. The threat from China, no doubt, is the driving force here—that is what impels the two nations to continue to firm up military strategic cooperation in the broad Asia Pacific region—securing the Indo-Pacific maritime theatre as a free and open zone is both the ostensible and the ultimate imperative.

Whether it is the new sense of urgency in the Quad or the resumption of the Malabar naval exercise after 13  years, Beijing’s aggressive behaviour in the neighbourhood and India’s own borders is a point of calling.  The Pompeo-Esper duo are in fact scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, after holding their pow-wow with Rajnath Singh and S Jaishankar, the Indian defence and external affairs ministers.

A clear sign of extra initiative, that. Washington is clearly not leaving it to New Delhi to work on its traditional arc of influence, to secure it against Beijing. It’s taking on the job itself. Whether India stays coy and does not admit to the Indo-US ‘alliance’, no one in Beijing will be fooled. And down the chain of reactions, that leaves India with even fewer options.