Washington, Tuesday marks the beginning of the White House’s collaboration with India, which US President Joe Biden says would enable both nations to compete with China in the production of military hardware, electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI).
In order to compete with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) of China, Washington wants to expand the number of Western mobile phone networks in the subcontinent. It also wants to attract more Indian computer chip specialists to the US and promote cooperation between American and Indian businesses developing military hardware like artillery systems.
The White House seeks to address India’s historic reliance on Moscow for military gear, but it confronts an uphill battle on all fronts, including U.S. prohibitions on the transfer of military technology and immigrant labour visas.
The U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies is being launched on Tuesday at the White House by Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, and Ajit Doval, his Indian counterpart.
According to Sullivan, “the bigger threat posed by China – it’s economic practises, its aggressive military movements, its ambitions to dominate the industries of the future and to control the supply chains of the future have had a tremendous impact on the thinking in Delhi.”
The two leaders are making a strategic bet on the idea that building a stronger ecosystem between the United States and India will advance their strategic, economic, and technological interests. “This is another big foundational piece of an overall strategy to put the entire democratic world in the Indo-Pacific in a position of strength,” the statement reads.
By taking part in military drills with Russia and boosting its purchases of the nation’s crude oil—a crucial source of finance for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine—New Delhi has irritated Washington. However, Washington has refrained from comment, urging India to take a more aggressive attitude toward China while nudging the nation toward Russia.
Along with executives from Applied Materials Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N), and Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), Sullivan and Doval attended a Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Monday (AMAT.O)
India has chosen not to participate in the IPEF trade pillar negotiations, despite being a part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the Biden administration’s flagship Asian engagement project, which focuses on supply chains, sustainable energy, and anti-corruption.
A collaborative effort on high-performance quantum computing and space is also included in the new endeavour.
While this is going on, General Electric Co (GE.N) is requesting authorization from the US government to collaborate with India to develop jet engines that will power Indian-made and -operated aircraft, according to the White House, which claims a review is in progress.
