US Sees India As Key To Indo-Pacific Strategy: Pentagon

NEW DELHI – Emphasizing that the United States views India with deep respect, US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby on March 24 said the country has a proud strategic tradition and that New Delhi’s decisions will profoundly shape the future of the Indo-Pacific.

“The United States views India with deep respect — as a republic of continental scale, as a nation with a proud strategic tradition, and as a country whose decisions will profoundly shape the future of the Indo-Pacific and the international landscape more broadly. Our two countries, of course, differ in history, geography, and perspective in important ways. Yet we share something fundamental: a conviction that the future of Asia should be determined by sovereign nations able to chart their own course,” Colby said during a special session at the Ananta Centre, here.

The Pentagon official is in India to engage with senior officials in New Delhi and help advance the critical India-US relationship.

He said the US sees India not merely as a key partner, but as an essential one in ensuring a long-term favorable balance of power in Asia.

“India’s importance stems not only from its size and economic potential, but also from its geography and strategic position. Your country sits astride the Indian Ocean, which is the connective tissue of the Indo-Pacific. India possesses a long tradition of strategic autonomy and a growing capacity to shape events well beyond its borders. It is the largest republic in the world; its success thus carries profound symbolic and political weight. And it has formidable, self-reliant, and capable military forces, willing and able to shoulder significant security responsibilities,” said Colby.

Stating that India’s role is indispensable, the US Under Secretary said Washington’s approach to the strategic partnership with India is interests-based and realistic, shaped by geopolitics and incentives rather than gauzy aspirations or detached idealism.

“We clearly recognize that India has its own interests, its own strategic culture, and its own priorities, and that India is not shy about advancing them,” said Colby, adding that India and US perspectives seem deeply aligned.

“Minister of External Affairs Dr. Jaishankar has termed India’s approach ‘Bharat First’ and its strategic approach ‘the India Way’. Like America First and flexible realism, Bharat First and the India Way emphasize the centrality of a realistic approach to foreign policy, an unabashed willingness to put one’s own national priorities first, and a results-oriented mindset about international politics,” he said.

He further stated that the framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership, signed by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh last October, provides a strong basis for progress. (IANS)