Indo-US relations: Does China hold the key?

Abstract

Joe Biden's first telephonic conversation as the President of US, with PM Modi on February 8, allayed some of the concerns and apprehensions about the durability of the bonhomie that marked Indo-US relations. US President Joe Biden had his first telephonic conversation as President with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 8, 2021. It is reported that they expressed their commitment to a “rules-based international order” and to “consolidating strategic partnership” between the two countries to further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. This has allayed some of the concerns and apprehensions about the durability of the bonhomie that marked Indo-US relations under President Trump. After all, in recent times, the Indo-US bilateral relationship was marked by the euphoria of events like „Howdy, Modi‟ in Houston in September 2019, slogans like „Ab ki baar, Trump sarkar‟ and the „Namaste Trump‟ event in Ahmedabad in February 2020. While all these were seen as laying the foundations for a deeper Indo-US relationship in President Trump‟s expected second term, the results of the US election had raised the inevitable question – would bilateral ties continue to flourish as they have in the last four years, or would it be replaced by frostier relations?