By Ammar Nainar
In the long run, India will continue to deepen defense cooperation with a select group of West Asian and Mediterranean countries in partial response to developments such as the Mecca Agreement.
India’s Growing Defense Industry Offers Opportunities for U.S. Production
By Ammar Nainar
The Iran War has already had a severe impact on the United States’ arms and ammunition inventory. The new demands for arms and munitions come just as India has begun to improve its domestic weapons manufacturing and promote defense exports. In the coming years, this offers opportunities for India and the United States to cooperate in defense manufacturing at scale.
India’s Navy Is Already Supporting Regional Security Around the Strait of Hormuz
By Ammar Nainar
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz resulting from the conflict between the United States and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran on the other, threaten to create another global energy crisis. India has many reasons to proactively take such action: the closure of the Strait of Hormuz risks exacerbating the country’s energy shortages and food insecurity.
The Importance of U.S.-India Cooperation on Professional Military Education and Training
By Ammar Nainar
For the first time in a defense framework agreement, India and the United States specified “operational coordination” as an objective for enhancing collaboration in Professional Military Education (PME) and training. While earlier exchanges largely involved India borrowing best practices from the United States, recent cooperation between the two countries has emphasized greater joint activities and operations.
India’s Contributions to Security in the Western Pacific
By Dhruva Jaishankar and Ammar Nainar
As China and the United States jostle for position, India has a modest but meaningful role to play as a security provider in the Western Pacific. Beyond the Indian Ocean, its ability to improve interoperability with willing and capable partners and assist in capacity-building efforts have only increased, notwithstanding the tenor of relations with the United States.
A Streamlined Agenda as Quad Cooperation Continues
By Ammar Nainar
Despite trade and tariff wars and continuing security tensions in Europe, the Middle East, and Indian subcontinent, Quad cooperation continues. But the trends this year also reflect a new and more focused agenda for Quad cooperation in the second Trump administration, including maritime, economic, and technology security, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Three Debates Shaping the Trump Administration’s Foreign Policies
U.S.-India Cooperation in the Indian Ocean
By Ammar Nainar
In a signal of the United States’ burden-sharing efforts, the Indian Ocean region was featured eight times in the latest U.S.-India joint statement between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and U.S. president Donald Trump. To India and the United States, the Indian Ocean remains vital for trade and energy flows, for security competition given China’s growing naval activity, and for connectivity between Asia, Africa, and Europe.
