By: Muhammad Shoaib Khan
Recently, the fourth ‘2+2’ dialogue between India and US was held in Washington DC. Indian EAM and Defence Minister met their US counterparts and held meetings on bilateral issues along with regional and international situations, especially after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Before this dialogue, the Indian PM virtually met the US president ahead of the dialogue between the ministers
First, we need to understand that what is the format of the 2+2 dialogue, so it is the meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues. A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides, in order to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
India diplomatically is trying to engage its partners for its larger strategic interest. So, the inaugural 2+2 dialogue with Australia was held in September 2021 when Indian EAM Jaishankar and Defence Minister Singh met with their counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton in New Delhi. India held its first 2+2 dialogue with Russia in December last year, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited India. The first India-Japan talks in the 2+2 format were held between Jaishankar and Singh and their Japanese counterparts Foreign Affairs Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister of Defense Kono Taro on November 30, 2019 in New Delhi. Whereas US is considered India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner. The first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries was held during the Trump Administration, when then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and then-Secretary of Defence James Mattis met the late Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi in September 2018. At that time launch of the dialogue was seen as a “reflection of the shared commitment” by India and the US to provide “a positive, forward-looking vision for the India-US strategic partnership and to promote synergy in their diplomatic and security efforts”. The second and third editions of the 2+2 dialogues were held in Washington DC and New Delhi in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Over the years, India and US became strategic partners that have produced tangible and far-reaching results for India, it seems like the latter is trying to counter China in South Asia with help of US. More or less, it will have implications on Pakistan as well. Because Pakistan is a close ally of China. Now, India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation. The strengthening of the mechanisms of cooperation between the two militaries is of significance in the context of an increasingly aggressive China, which threatens a large number of countries in its neighborhood and beyond, and which has been challenging several established norms and aspects of international relations.
So, the 2+2 recent meeting in Washington held between US and Indian counterparts commended the significant and continuing progress in the US-India Major Défense Partnership. Drawing on the momentum from the US-India Défense Policy Group meeting in October 2021, they reaffirmed their ambitions for building an advanced and comprehensive defense partnership in which the US and Indian militaries coordinate closely together across all domains.
As information-sharing forms an important pillar of the US-India defense cooperation, the Ministers underlined the importance of building a comprehensive framework under which both countries’ militaries are equipped to exchange information in real-time across domains.
In support of the Indian military’s expanding operational reach and emerging opportunities for cooperation in the Indian Ocean and the wider region, the Ministers welcomed regular bilateral logistics operations such as replenishments at sea, air-to-air, and ground-refueling and committed to increasing such cooperation, including through the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA).
2+2 meeting is the first of its kind under the Biden–Modi governments and provides the opportunity to resume discussions at the highest level in this format after it was disrupted and could not take place in 2021. For obvious reasons, the ongoing Ukraine crisis will loom large over the dialogue. Two of the biggest economies of the world, China and India, in their own ways remain connected with Russia even in the face of an unprecedented attempt by the western countries to isolate Russia. More importantly, some European countries themselves remain tied with Moscow through their energy and other imports, led by Germany. Despite differing perceptions on the Ukraine crisis between the two countries that have emerged. Secondly, the dialogue’s importance lies in the light of the differences that have emerged between the two countries over the Russia–Ukraine war. For India, clear enunciation of its position on the Russia–Ukraine war at the highest level would also arrest any misunderstanding in the future.
Whilst the US is expected to keep pushing India to take a stand against Russia and decrease its dependence on Moscow, the US will look to build on what it calls the convergences with regards to its efforts to change India’s stand apropos Russia. In this regard, the US may particularly look to two strategic goals, one short-term and another long-term. In the immediate setting, the US is likely to propose to nudge India to reduce its nominal oil imports from Russia, which the US has officially stated. In the long run, the US would want India to gradually shift its investments in Russian defense equipment and make it more ‘compatible’ with the US.
India and US also urged Pakistan to end terror from its soil, whereas Pakistan’s foreign office categorically rejected the joint statement of 2+2 dialogue. Now Pakistan needs to engage the international community regarding its efforts against terrorism in the region and should highlight Indian sponsorship of terrorist activities at international forums. So that meetings like 2+2 dialogue could not be used against Pakistan in any manner.
The writer is a political and media analyst who regularly writes on international political issues.
