Opinion: The 'Strategic' In India-US Partnership May Have Changed

Updated: Jun 19, 2026 21:30 pm IST Published On Jun 19, 2026 18:29 pm IST Last Updated On Jun 19, 2026 21:30 pm IST

Published On Jun 19, 2026 18:29 pm IST

Last Updated On Jun 19, 2026 21:30 pm IST

The highly anticipated meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the mercurial US President Donald Trump is over, and the Ministry of External Affairs can heave a sigh of relief. No disruptive comments were noted, and Trump, in fact, was lavish in his praise of the longest continuously serving democratically elected Prime Minister. Everything played out well. But this is no time to let the guard down.

First the meeting itself. Both sides noted 'satisfaction' at progress in ties, and PM Modi brought up the issue of safety of seamen. Trump's response was swift. The US would never allow anyone to attack India, as long as PM Modi was around, the US president said.

Trump is a politician, and he would typically respect the fact that he's talking to the longest continuously serving democratically elected Prime Minister. And he is hardly likely to have forgotten the massive backing with "Abki baar, Trump sarkar". And whatever the ups and downs, he has never once denigrated the Prime Minister, which he has not hesitated to do with myriad allies, like French President Macron.

Does it mean anything? Hardly.

But it matters to audiences in India and the US.

The whole 'strategic'issue

Indian policy makers have been slow to adjust to the realities in the new US administration. No more does your democracy count, as an important facet of a 'strategic' partnership. The present lot couldn't care less. The 2020 perception of India as the most 'consequential partner' coined by the then US Defence Secretary Mark Esper, was made ahead of the 2 2 talks between Foreign and Defence ministers. The State Department at the time noted Chinese aggressiveness along the Indian border, as well as with neighbours around. That aggressiveness has only increased. But the White House is........

© NDTV