ASSESSMENTS
India Walks the Tightrope Between the U.S. and Russia
Jun 8, 2018 | 09:00 GMT
(MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images)
Highlights
- India will seek to balance its relations with great powers to ensure its primacy in South Asia and fulfill its doctrine of strategic autonomy.
- Because of India's deep reliance on Russian arms and unwillingness to allow others to dictate its relationships, it will probably continue to purchase arms from Moscow, albeit at a slower rate.
- If Washington slows the sale of weapons systems such as the the Predator drone to New Delhi, the latter could retaliate by dragging its heels on the signing of defense pacts.