Nikkei Asia | India-U.S.-South Korea tech cooperation has strategic logic

In their own way, the U.S., South Korea and India each have come to realize their potential vulnerability to supply chain cutoffs and trade coercion. Now the trio have begun working together on a joint initiative, the Trilateral Technology Dialogue (TTD), that aims to make technology supply chains more resilient, bring technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region and spur innovation and economic growth. Read the full article here.

The Free Press Journal | Realpolitik Will Define Indo-US Ties, Not Pannun

The US Department of Justice’s week-old indictment of Indian national Nikhil Gupta in the alleged attempt to kill New York-based Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun cannot be a barometer to measure New Delhi’s deep strategic ties with Washington, something both countries have worked on intensely for the last two decades. The Americans have not only been discreet in their investigation, they have been judicious in their approach by doing everything by the book in their detention and deportation of Gupta, an alleged drug trafficker and weapons dealer who is accused of trying to kill Pannun, an American-Canadian citizen. Read the full article here.

The Quint | India-US Ties: Despite Nijjar Storm, All’s Well on the Western Front

Washington’s perceived 'harsh response’ to the India-Canada fracas has sparked both suspicion and pessimism in some quarters in India. Skeptics have sought to highlight the unreliability of the US as a partner while pessimists have argued that this incident is likely to press the US to re-evaluate its relationship with India. Read the full article here.

For India-US iCET Partnership, China Is One of Many Challenges

Recently, two of the world’s established technological powers, the United States (US) and India, decided to further bolster their positions by enhancing cooperation in the technology domain. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting resulted in the announcement of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) to expand the existing partnership between the two states in specific strategic technology sectors. The concept of building tech alliances with the help of like-minded techno-democracies has brought together multiple states in the recent past. The iCET looks like just an extension of the existing bilateral cooperation in the technology sector between the two countries.

US Indo-Pacific Strategy geared for Great Power Competition

The US recently came out with the latest iteration of its Indo-Pacific Strategy. The document has a clear imprint of the ongoing great-power competition across political, ideological and military-technical domains between US and its allies on one side and China and Russia on the other. The document has a realist tone, admitting that the US seeks “a balance of influence in the world that is maximally favorable” to it. It is no coincidence that Russia and China take issue with the US rhetoric on a “rules-based order” that would only be advantageous to US and countries closely aligned to it. 

Delhi must wake up and smell the opportunity

Deepening competition between the US and China over trade and technology is bringing forth a new set of economic and strategic challenges for India. Navigating these successfully requires New Delhi to mitigate and manage the threats, while leveraging the opportunities that arise. Doing so, however, requires the Indian government to undertake key reforms and adopt a strategic outlook with regard to certain domestic policies.A protracted Sino-US tech war could limit India’s room to maneuver, with the possibility that the global cyberspace and technology and innovation ecosystems could splinter into spheres of influence. This necessitates the adoption of a strategic outlook towards domestic policies.Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/sunday-spotlight/delhi-must-wake-up-and-smell-the-opportunity-739059.html