WASHINGTON– Two former senior officials from the Joe Biden administration have called on Washington to deepen its engagement with India, warning that rising tensions could push New Delhi away at a critical juncture.
In an article for Foreign Affairs titled “The Case for a US Alliance With India,” former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell described India as “one of the United States’ most important global partners” and cautioned that a split would be “difficult to mend.”
They argued that the relationship has long been “vulnerable to misunderstandings, missteps, and missed opportunities because of lingering distrust and misaligned expectations.” If mishandled, they warned, “the United States could end up driving India directly into its adversaries’ arms.”
The piece urged the Trump administration to “draw New Delhi closer, not push it away,” while criticizing Washington’s tendency to frame relations with India through the lens of its Pakistan policy. “There should be no India-Pakistan policy,” the former officials wrote, emphasizing that U.S. interests in Pakistan are limited compared to the “multifaceted and consequential” stakes in India’s future.
Sullivan and Campbell proposed a 10-year “strategic alliance” between the two nations, built on mutual commitments in technology, defense, supply chains, intelligence, and global problem-solving—distinct from a traditional mutual defense pact. They stressed that such an alliance is compatible with India’s insistence on strategic autonomy. “Alliances are about alignment and common purpose—not about sacrificing sovereignty,” they noted.
In an interview with PBS NewsHour, Campbell expressed concern over the rapid deterioration in relations. “I think all of us who played a role in building this relationship are in shock and concerned by what we’ve seen in terms of the substantial degradation in relations in just a couple of weeks,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent “a very clear message to the United States: I have other options.” (Source: IANS)
