India should partner US to deter Chinese influence: Expert

WASHINGTON: India should come closer to the US to deter any Chinese aggression and influence, a noted American expert said here.

"Instead of keeping the US at arms distance with the hope of placating the Chinese, India should be drawing closer to the US in ways that solidify and build trust in their own partnership and deter the Chinese from considering a more aggressive posture toward India," said Lisa Curtis of 'The Heritage Foundation'.

She criticised those who are advocating maintaining a distance with Washington and adopt a foreign policy which they term "Non-Alignment 2.0".

Curtis was responding to the recently released report "Non-Alignment 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic Policy for India in the 21st Century," by an Indian think-tank, which was released by National Security Advisor, Shivshankar Menon.

"US strategic thinkers who are eager to improve ties with India will be disappointed by the report, as it provides few imperatives and recommendations for solidifying a US-India strategic partnership for the 21st century," she said.

"While the report acknowledges that the US (and China) will be global power centres and that a robust American maritime presence in the Asia-Pacific will help delay the projection of Chinese naval power in the Indian Ocean, it also says that it would be 'premature' to conclude that India would benefit from close ties with the US," Curtis said.

Curtis, a former CIA analyst, said report demonstrates distrust toward American intentions, and highlights that it would be risky for India to rely too heavily on the US since an Indo-US strategic partnership "could become a casualty of any tactical upswing in Sino-American ties."