As the world’s largest democracy, India is emerging as a key American partner in economic and security affairs. The U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, counterterrorism cooperation, and defense cooperation are important milestones in this new engagement.
How did India rank in the Index of Economic Freedom? Click here to find out. Read More.
The November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai highlighted the urgent need for U.S.–Indian cooperation to counter regional and global terrorist threats. Read More.
IntroductionIn real terms, there is no denying the extraordinary progress in the engagement between India and the United States over the past two decades. Throughout, and even after, the Cold War, the world's two largest democracies remained estranged. In the first decade after the end of the Cold War, the two countries quarreled over nuclear nonproliferation; the U.S.…
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Committee on Foreign Affairs United States House of Representatives March 13, 2013 Walter Lohman My name is Walter Lohman. I am Director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of…
It has been a bad half-decade for American foreign economic policy. The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha round was mortally wounded in 2008. The last three bilateral trade agreements were stalled and then renegotiated. The next one is not even on the radar screen. While the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and a possible agreement with the 27-nation European…
Tensions between India and Pakistan are heating up along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir. A series of border incidents in early January left three Pakistani and two Indian soldiers dead. One of the Indian soldiers was beheaded and another severely mutilated, provoking Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to say that India’s ties with Pakistan would not be…
In the coming weeks, the United States Senate will begin the confirmation process for three key Administration positions: Senator John Kerry (D–MA) for Secretary of State, former Senator Chuck Hagel (R–NE) for Secretary of Defense, and White House chief counterterrorism advisor John Brennan for director of the CIA. All three have been prominent backers of President…
Project Overview India will soon have the largest population of any country in the world. It therefore has the potential, with extensive and difficult reforms, to become the world's most important free market—a position currently held by the United States. It follows directly that the economic relationship between India and the U.S., if allowed to flourish, can greatly…
Abstract: While the U.S. and India have developed multifaceted ties over the last decade, the overall relationship has recently been challenged: India bought advanced fighter jets from France, not from the U.S.; the Indian parliament virtually shut out U.S. companies from India’s civil nuclear industry; the Singh government delayed economic reforms that…
America’s Enduring Leadership in Asia America has been engaged in Asia since a few decades after securing its independence. Its early interest is documented in the 1833 Treaty on Amity and Commerce between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Siam Thailand), and later in the market-opening 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan. The U.S. has, in fact, been a “resident…
U.S. and Indian leaders will hold their third round of Strategic Dialogue talks in Washington, D.C., this week amidst growing concern that the U.S.–India relationship is failing to live up to what U.S. policymakers expected from it seven years ago, when the civil nuclear deal was first unveiled. A number of differences between the U.S. and India have arisen over the…
Indian gross domestic product (GDP) growth for fiscal year 2012 was just announced at a surprisingly low 6.5 percent. Attention is focused on the present—slow growth, still-high inflation, and balance-of-payments instability. There is even talk of a crisis similar to that in 1991, which launched now-distant market reforms. The real danger, though, is the future. India is…
Protesters took to the streets throughout India in the summer of 2011, demanding the establishment of a powerful new anti-corruption watchdog agency. In the aftermath of numerous high-profile corruption cases, the demonstrators’ wrath and intensity are understandable. Their demands, however, are misdirected. Adding yet another agency to the bloated Indian government…
The United States is no less a Pacific nation than an Atlantic one. The state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa all lie in the Pacific. The United States has five treaty alliances in East Asia (Japan, Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand), the Pacific Fleet, and major military bases throughout the region. It has…
Over the last few years, tensions have been brewing between India and China over their long-held border disputes. The source of the tensions is multi-faceted but driven in large part by China’s concern with an emergent India and Beijing’s desire to consolidate its position on Tibet. While military conflict between the two Asian giants is unlikely any time soon, recent…
Abstract: Summer 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of major market reforms in India. Unfortunately, reform is no longer progressing, which is harming the Indian economy. The reform halt has also greatly inhibited the development of the U.S.–India economic relationship, so that it remains far from achieving its unmatched potential. To address inflation and other major…
Abstract: The Indian Ocean is becoming increasingly important to China’s economic and security interests. China appears to be pursuing what has been widely characterized as a “string of pearls” strategy of cultivating India’s neighbors as friendly states, both to protect its economic and security interests and to balance a “rising India.” With Chinese influence in the…
The global financial crisis has had a major impact on perceptions of American power and its relationships in Asia. Many of the perceptions are not founded on facts. Among the facts often overlooked: American companies invest far more abroad than does all of Asia combined. For every dollar the U.S. has invested in China it has invested two in Australia…
The Bush Administration did a great deal for U.S. relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It developed the ASEAN Cooperation Plan, the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative, the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership, and the U.S.-ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement. The Bush Administration also opened free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations…
After three years of the Obama Doctrine, the place of the United States in the world is less secure than when the President came into office. That trend must change. Nor can foreign policy be left on the backburner any longer with Washington only focusing on domestic issues. The White House and Congress ought to make foreign policy a priority, and they ought to return to…
The right to own property is a given in much of the world. Although Indian citizens can own property, that right is...…
Amidst all the regional concerns about North Korea, the Senkaku dispute between China and Japan has continued to...…
Even as tensions remain high around the disputed Senkaku islands, China appears to be asserting its sovereignty...…
Drug wars have plagued Asia for decades, and the drug problem continues to stem the tide of economic growth and...…
The world has reacted to the Boston marathon bombings with horror and compassion, much as it did to the terrorist...…
This morning, by a vote of 154 nations in favor (including the United States), 23 abstentions, and three against (Syria,...…
Thursday was a really bad day for the Indian economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the October–December...…
For the past few weeks, India’s internal turmoil has been on display via news headlines on rape, widespread poverty,...…
Former Senator Chuck Hagel’s (R–NE) unfounded comments on India’s role in Afghanistan during a speech in 2011 provide...…
Economist Nouriel Roubini warned late last month at the World Economic Forum that economic growth in the so-called BRIC...…
Senior Research Fellow