U.S.-India Security Relations (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (32 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
Nov. 22, 2002 |
| Report Number |
RL31644 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Amit Gupta, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This report discusses the reasons behind the U.S.-India relationship, how the United States benefits from this new relationship, and the potential problems that may emerge, both as a result of Indiaâs domestic constraints as well as its perceived foreign policy objectives. In the past two years, the United States and India have moved away from the misperceptions of the Cold War that prevented a strong relationship between the worldâs strongest democracy and its largest one. Instead, there has been an emphasis on common security interests that are both short term as well as those encompassing future concerns. These interests include joint operations and patrolling, transfers of weapons technologies to ensure interoperability, sharing information on and countering international terrorism, and India playing a role in multilateral peacekeeping and peace enforcement efforts. Ethnic tensions and conflicts with Pakistan over Kashmir have also forced the Indian government to divert resources from international issues to the maintenance of internal security. At the external level, doubts remain in India about the value of a full-fledged security relationship with the United States because it would mean moving away from the country's traditional policy of non-alignment. From the United States' perspective, U.S. relations with India need to be balanced by relations with Pakistan, the needs of the war on terror, and China's behavior.
