Trump's conflicting South Asia policies strain US-India ties

Hans India

14 hours ago

Toronto: US President Donald Trump's South Asian policy has been marked with strategic contradictions, straining its relationship with India. Though the US considers India a vital player in the Indo-Pacific and seeks its partnership in the region, several of Trump's policy decisions have clashed with India's core strategic interests, a report cited on Saturday.
Such contradictions became apparent in several recent decisions, including hosting Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, at the White House, supporting an IMF bailout to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, and recurring gestures of praise towards Pakistani leadership, Imran Khurshid, an Associate Research Fellow at the International Centre for Peace Studies (ICPS) in New Delhi, wrote in the Eurasian Times. He highlighted that the US support for Pakistan has emboldened Islamabad's strategic confidence, providing it with a leeway to act aggressively against India — politically, militarily, and diplomatically — "especially at sensitive geopolitical moments". "If the US wants India to be a serious and independent partner in the Indo-Pacific, it must stop undermining India in South Asia and respect its sensitivities.
It must abandon binary, fragmented regional frameworks and instead pursue an integrated strategy that strengthens India's position — not weakens it," Khurshid mentioned.
"If these contradictions continue, America may not just lose India — it may lose the very global leadership it once proudly commanded. Trump claims to want to 'Make America Great Again', but his actions might just ensure America becomes isolated, distrusted, and strategically irrelevant," he added.
The relationship between India and the US was once described as the "defining partnership of the 21st century". Previous US Presidents, including Bill Clinton in his second term, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, made considerable efforts to establish mutual trust and followed the policy of de-hyphenation with India and Pakistan, "treating each country on its own merits".
"They largely respected India's red lines, particularly on sensitive issues like Kashmir and strategic autonomy, and avoided viewing India through a Pakistan-centric lens..."
Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy, he wrote, is driven by personal ego, unpredictable behaviour, fragmented thinking, and an obsession with trade deficits and tariffs which has made India uneasy.
The recent actions by Trump, reckoned the author, have eroded the trust and warmth that once existed in the India–US relationship. "This disregard recently escalated with Trump's unilateral decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods starting August 1, 2025, coupled with vague but punitive secondary sanctions linked to India's continued purchases of Russian oil and defence equipment," he stated.