Rise of the machines
IF investment activity is anything to go by, the robotics industry is certainly having a moment.
In 2024, venture capital investors put US$6.1bil into robotics, representing a 19% increase from 2023's US$5.1bil and 144% rise from 2019, according to PitchBook data.
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Curtis, now director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for New American Security in Washington, said 'the security imperative to counter growing Chinese military power and influence requires the United States to draw countries like India into a closer embrace with the United States, not pick fights to try to gain better market access.' She described the Quad as an effective mechanism to promote activities and policies in the Indo-Pacific that support US interests, such as countering Chinese economic and military coercion, adding that 'if US-India trade talks break down and Trump cancels his visit to India, this would be a clear win for China.' 'The first Trump administration successfully elevated the US-India relationship and built strategic trust and confidence in the relationship. The second Trump administration's lack of strategic perspective on US-India ties threatens to undermine that progress,' Curtis said. 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He said the bloc remains useful to have a 'frequent gathering of the most economically and militarily capable democracies in Asia,' and that if Quad members do not align their strategies 'China will have greater room to enhance its global and regional influence'. Curtis said it is possible the US and India could still conclude a trade deal by September to pave the way for a Trump visit to India in the autumn. 'The prospects for a deal at the moment, however, look somewhat bleak,' she said, adding that Trump's repeated criticisms of India are 'backing Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi into a corner, making it increasingly difficult for him to be seen as making concessions.' According to Manjari Chatterjee Miller, a senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank in New York, 'unless Modi and Trump can reach an agreement, this is an incredibly destabilising moment for the US-India relationship, and recovery will be difficult'. She said 'the last thing India wants is for a strong Russia-China relationship to develop at India's expense', adding that the US administrations over the past decade typically overlooked the Russia factor to build a strong relationship with India. 'China indeed could benefit from a tense US-India relationship,' Miller added. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
