In fact, the re-elected US President Donald Trump does not look pursuing the much desired foreign policy towards South Asia in general and India in particular as visible in the American actions towards Operation Sindoor, launched by India in retaliation to the Pakistan supported terror attack in Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22, 2025, thus killing 27 innocent male tourists before their hapless families in the broad day light after identifying them to be non-Muslim. That has perhaps encouraged the terror networks throughout the world as witnessed in the latest terror attack in France on 05 Nov. 2025 killing at least 10 innocent people. And that reminds the global humanity of its invincible power. The terror attack appears to be related to Islamic Terror Networks, as the arrested accused after overrunning the victims deters the peace-loving world.
In the similar anti-Indian US’ vein, the inhuman and brutal behaviour with the returned Indian immigrants from America in February 2025 – all caged in their hands as well through their legs alike hardened criminals awaiting death penalty – and the recent tariff hike against Indian exports and further asking its Apple i-phone company to windup its business in India or face 25% more tariff. In fact the core concerns of the aforesaid US’ foreign policy during the recent past also reflects this approach. Indeed, the important US’ concerns in South Asia are viz. Afghanistan, Pakistan and China and they may be cited here to substantiate the argument in favour of India being a meaningful and worthwhile friend for America.
As an expert observes over the US’ dilemma during the end of the year 2020 was that whether or not the President Biden’s Administration would persist with three key innovations under Trump1.0 – recognizing the futility of continued military presence in Afghanistan, downgrading the relationship with Pakistan and confronting Chinese assertiveness in Asia. While reasonably addressing these concerns in the US favour by ensuring its dominant presence to deter both Pakistan and China in South Asia or Indo-Pacific, the aforesaid concerns had today elevated India’s position in the hierarchy of the US’ priority under President Trump2.0.
Consequently, Pakistan stands marginalized in the evolving US’ strategic calculus for the first time since Soviet Russia military intervened in Afghanistan at the end of 1979 and that stands re-enacted in connection with the Russian inclination towards Islamabad during past two decades as well. This is why Pakistan has now taken sides with Saudi Arabia just to consolidate its position vis-à-vis India while undergoing through the fear-psychosis of Operation Sindoor Part-2 possibly to be launched by India against Islamabad in the backdrop of PM Modi’s consistent reiteration that this operation is not over.
It is in the same spirit the US identified China as its direct opponent after more than four decades of honeymoon emerged out of Ping-Pong diplomacy in the early 1970s enjoying their cordial bilateral relations. Although the US’ China strategy under President Trump led to reimagine Asian geography as the Indo-Pacific, underscoring the significance of Indo into the Pacific, but that marked a decisive break from the earlier US’ tradition of looking India through South Asian prism.
That was again characterized by the end of the US’ inclination towards Pakistan as well to rebalance its strategy towards South Asia under the tapestry of a more systematic and coherent policy for Asia vis-à-vis mounting challenges from China under the earlier US’ President Joe Biden. As regards economic issues, President Biden discarded the earlier Trump tariffs on Chinese imports. President Biden sought a more comprehensive effort to de-risk the economic relationship with China and put in place tighter controls on the transfer of advanced technologies.
In fact, President Biden initiated many political and institutional measures in Asia not falling in line the Trump legacy so as to balance the economic pressure imposed by China. Among these significant measures, the elevation of the QUAD to summit level along with expanding the scope of strategic partnership with India are most pertinent as regards emerging bonhomie between the two largest democracies.
These apart, the initiating of the AUKUS partnership with the UK with a view to transfer nuclear propulsion technology to Australia including reinforcing and upgrading alliances with Australia, Japan and Philippines; effort to resolve the historical differences between Seoul and Tokyo and build a trilateral compact in North East Asia; high-level reengagement with ASEAN; and end to the prolonged neglect of the pacific islands.
Notwithstanding these standing contradictions with the US, India consistently prioritised its supposedly cordial relations with America so as to elevate its economic potential and security build up reflecting its rising power profile in real-term global ranking not just for its own vested interests but for accomplishing overall common interests for the uplift and welfare of the global humanity, consonant with its foreign policy. Perhaps that turned fruitful in India’s favour with some of the prominent scientific and technological expertise that America may very likely share with India.
It is in this context, the US’ expertise in computer technology, nuclear energy, exploitation of unconventional sources for achieving energy security, climate and monsoon studies, earth sciences, space exploration, information technology, Artificial Intelligence, initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iEAT) unveiled in January 2023 under Joe Biden’s presidency are some of the most significant achievement that America holds to its credit as these are still unavailable to any other power in the world including Russia and China.
But all these are very useful for India, given its rising demands in all the aforesaid sectors of the bilateral India-US partnership, as they are meant to serve New Delhi’s national interests, especially expanding aspirations of people at large in India. If more intensive technology cooperation has been India’s demand from the US, it has been carried to a new level. The iCET has also helped expand the focus beyond cooperation between the S&T agencies to building industrial cooperation that is set to boost India’s national capabilities in advanced sectors like semiconductors and jet engine production in India.
Biden’s emphasis on building resilient supply chains and developing deeper cooperation among trusted geographies has not only put India at the centre of this strategy but has also mobilized the US’s allies to join the efforts to accelerate India’s growth in the emerging technology areas. Evidently, the deepening India-US bilateral partnership is now a two-way mutual exercise, instead of being otherwise. Indeed the Indian talent, companies and start-ups are now contributing to the US economy and security. It is not by accident that the US has emerged as the main destination for India’s defence exports.
Notwithstanding the above, in fact the US continues to pursue its likely hidden agenda to regain once again its global ascendance and for that India’s cooperation and support may possibly prove to be a milestone, given New Delhi’s rising power profile in in the world added with its peace-loving and justice-seeking and common- welfare oriented endeavour and global approach as reflected in India’s foreign policy, arising out of its ancient glorious traditions and rich cultural heritage.
Although the US, being the largest successful democracy and military power having almost supreme global influence, can be fruitful in resolving the on-going crises in the world as visible in the on-going more than three years long Russia-Ukraine war and also that of the Hamas-Israel war continuing in Gaza and West Bank, altogether threatening peace and security of the entire Middle East and adjoining regions too, notwithstanding India’s rising stature in Central Asia.
But President Trump 2.0 looks to be deriving economic mileage through arms trade and expanding influence therein perhaps to regain its global supremacy – instead of initiating effective steps as a global leader and the most powerful man in the world by seeking cooperation from European leaders and other liberal-democratic dispensations across the world viz. India, Australia, Japan, South Korea etc. – so as to save the world from possible holocaust.
In fact, the US under Trump 2.0 now looks well-prepared to reclaim its unparalleled-unipolar hegemony that it enjoyed after the demise of the USSR during closing years of 1980s onwards up till a multipolar world order emerged around the beginning of the present century. While powers like China, Russia, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Japan, Canada, Australia and the Scandinavian countries were consistently upcoming to challenge the US’ sole global hegemony at this crucial juncture, Washington had been trailing behind from many of the aforesaid powers in critical sectors like industry, computer science, information technology, space exploration, climate and ocean science etc..
Besides the above-mentioned powers, few prominent states like India in South Asia,, Indonesia in Southeast Asia, Brazil in South America and South Africa are elevating their economic and technical profile fast on the global stage by entering into the league of top 10 emerging economies characterized by their credible scientific and technological advancements, socio-economic growth and political consolidation apart from their distinct soft power and specific cultural attributes, altogether engendering fragmentation of the unipolar international order into the multipolar world.
Evidently the so emerged world order has been significantly contributing to India’s foreign policy to accomplish its national interests by enjoying independent decision-making and freedom of action apart from consistently upholding the principles inherent therein (foreign policy) aimed at serving the global humanity by establishing the spirit of globalism though creating illusion of “All Form, Little Substance”, despite the US under Trump 2.0 doing contrary to this spirit just to reclaim its above-mentioned unparalleled hegemony throughout the world perhaps to return back to the then unipolar world during 1990s.