China and Indian relationship: parliamentarians call for a reestablishment of ties with calling it the “defining partner of the 21st century.”

China and India relationship: The United States’ cooperation with India has been referred to as “a defining relationship of the 21st century” by US politicians and top foreign policy experts, who have cautioned that more military, economic, and technical coordination between Washington and New Delhi is necessary in response to Chinese aggression.

Congressman Bill Huizenga, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, said that the US-India strategic alliance “is no longer just important” as he opened the hearing on Wednesday (local time). “If America wants a free Indo-Pacific… our partnership with India is critical,” the statement said, “it is a defining relationship of the 21st century.”

Citing Beijing’s growing maritime presence, military pressure along the border, and what he described as an overt endeavor “to encircle and control the Indian Ocean,” he issued a warning that a “increasingly aggressive China threatens regional stability.”

Lawmakers were informed by witnesses that India has shown the “stiffest resistance” to Chinese pressure. India “has engaged in… stopping Chinese coercion at their border,” according to Jeff Smith of the Heritage Foundation, and, in contrast to the US, “it was able to ban TikTok essentially overnight.” India “has put up fierce restrictions on Chinese investments” and has emerged as one of Washington’s most important strategic allies, he said.

According to analysts, India plays a role in a variety of areas, including information sharing, developing technology, and maritime deterrent. According to Smith, the two nations are practicing mountain warfare in the Himalayas, conducting combined patrols in the South China Sea, and “tracking Chinese submarines together in the Indian Ocean.”

The collaboration has expanded because to “economic opportunities for both countries” and a common worry about China’s ascent, according to Dhruva Jaishankar of ORF America. He pointed out that Beijing’s network of ports and naval assets throughout the Indo-Pacific “may be used to secure critical choke points” and that China’s military mobilization in 2020 “resulted in clashes in which 20 Indian military personnel lost their lives.”

Lawmakers expressed worry that recent US trade initiatives, such as high tariffs, were destabilizing relations despite these advancements. Saying that Trump “will be the American President that lost India” and that forceful trade policies “are doing real and lasting damage” to strategic trust, Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove harshly criticized the administration’s strategy.

She said that Washington shouldn’t “drive strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries,” stating that “the tariff rate on India is currently higher than the tariff rate on China.”

Washington’s enhanced interaction with Pakistan’s military leadership is another issue that worries India. According to Jaishankar, India believes that “third-party mediation has often contributed to Pakistan’s adventurism” because of “a long and well-documented history” of Pakistan utilizing terrorist proxies.

Lawmakers and witnesses agreed that the collaboration is still essential. The ranking member posed a number of quick-fire questions, including if India is essential to containing China’s influence, whether a free and open Indo-Pacific is improved by India’s participation in the Quad, and whether deterrence is improved by a solid alliance. Each of the three witnesses said, “Yes.”

India can “shoulder more day-to-day security responsibilities in the Indian Ocean,” challenge Chinese military planning, and contribute industrial capacity in times of crisis, according to Sameer Lalwani of the German Marshall Fund. However, he warned that a “ay-do gap” in carrying out significant projects, such as defense co-production, might cause momentum to stall.

According to Huizenga, marine security will continue to be crucial. He said that since India is situated along important maritime routes, Chinese dominance in the area “could have dangerous leverage over the global economy.” Smith called the Andaman and Nicobar Islands “an extremely valuable asset” for monitoring Navy movement entering the Indian Ocean and called for more cooperation around them.

Despite recent conflict, experts said in their evaluations that the case for expanded participation is compelling. While Jaishankar stated that both sides can still achieve “$500 billion in trade by 2030,” increased cooperation on AI and defense, and new corridors connecting the Middle East and Europe, Smith cautioned that it would be “strategic malpractice of the highest order” to discard the quarter-century dividend of trust.

With the support of fundamental military agreements and Quad collaboration with Japan and Australia, India-US defense relations have intensified during the last ten years. From the South China Sea to the Line of Actual Control, China’s aggressive stance has forced the US and India to work together more closely on supply chain resilience, technology, and marine security.

Both countries see one another as essential to countering China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific, and their bilateral commerce already surpasses $200 billion yearly. Analysts anticipate more security and technological collaboration in 2026 and beyond, despite political unrest.