A clear lack of US condemnation of India’s latest missile test demonstrates that Washington not only appreciates but also supports India’s ability to meet the emerging strategic challenge posed by an aggressive China.
The United States is more comfortable with the Indian progress in the nuclear and missile fields than China. China’s missile and nuclear programme is based on threatening the United States and India’s missile programme on the other hand is based on preventing China to achieve status quo in Asia as a sole super power.
India’s successful test of the Agni-V, a nuclear-capable long-range missile, is a major step forward for New Delhi in attaining nuclear deterrence against regional rival China and no country in the world has criticised India’s ballistic ICBM test.
The US State Department on the other hand called on all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint and underlined India’s impeccable record on non-proliferation and it’s cooperation with the international community on nuclear issues. The trust and relationship between India and the United States has matured to an altogether different level which in the coming decades will be the envy of the world.
Washington’s position on India’s ballistic missile development throughout the 1990’s was quite different, when Washington had pressured New Delhi to modify it’s nuclear and missile posture and on the other hand the new US stance demonstrates a welcome evolution in US non-proliferation policy. This has ushered in an era of Indo-US strategic partnership on various levels.
The US change in position with regard to Indian missile capabilities demonstrates how far the US-India relationship has evolved over the last one decade.
The US views India as the strongest strategic partner with an ever growing economic and political clout that will contribute to promoting security and stability in Asia and the rest of the world.