Editor's Pick: New phase of U.S.-India ties

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

The U.S. brought up its growing relationship with India during a meeting with China in Alaska on March 19. It is learnt that the Chinese side did not receive the statement from the Joe Biden administration well.

The willingness to play up its ties with India in front of China is another signal on India's role in Washington's foreign policy agenda in the region. The Alaska meeting with China was preceded by the U.S. participating in the first Quad summit with India, Japan and Australia. The U.S. had so far been reluctant to have a formal structure for Quad, which China sees as a thorn on its Indo-Pacific side. But in its early months itself, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has made it clear that the "U.S. is back" in multilateral engagements and has also identified China as its primary challenger in the global arena. The Quad has eschewed any overt posturing against China, which is what India prefers as there are ongoing bilateral attempts for a border settlement. However, India has been happy to go along with the U.S. otherwise as Washington's focus on the Indo-Pacific is also leverage for India.

This scenario was not what many expected after the transition from the Trump administration, says our Beijing Correspondent Ananth Krishnan in today's report. It was thought that the lack of a personal rapport between Mr. Biden and PM Modi, such as the one between the latter and Donald Trump, would dampen ties. However, the new U.S. administration has put aside any domestic differences to engage with India's diplomatic and government machinery. This bipartisanship and the willingness to roll out this relationship at its first major engagement with China — indicative of the stock that U.S. places in India — are what make this story important.

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