On Friday, the Indian and US armies reportedly kicked off the 18th edition of ‘Yudh Abhyas’ (War Practice) joint exercises in Auli in India’s Uttarakhand state, around 100 km from Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto, yet disputed, Sino-India border.
In its ‘National Security Strategy’ unveiled this week, the Joe Biden administration describes Beijing as “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge,” suggesting that the ongoing decade will be “decisive” in “setting terms of our competition” with Beijing.
Among others, Biden’s strategy also calls for countering Beijing’s influence through deepening and modernizing ties with partners and allies in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. Delhi, in this regard, shares Washington’s vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” the document claims.
India should be “extremely careful” in cultivating close military ties with the United States as it risks being the “most vulnerable” country in the Asia-Pacific amid the ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing, strategic affairs expert Pravin Sawhney has told Sputnik.
“India is central to the US’ strategy insofar as the Asia-Pacific is concerned. And the strategy is meant to threaten China’s economic interests under the Maritime Silk Road rather than contain it,” Sawhney, a noted author and former Indian Army officer, said, referring to the Maritime Silk Road as part of Beijing’s multi-trillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which seeks to link Asia with Europe and beyond through connectivity and infrastructure projects.
Sawhney further cautioned that India was at the greatest risk of being caught in US-China tensions in case of an escalation as it was the only nation among America's allies and security partners which share a land border with Beijing.
“As far as China is concerned, if China ever decides that its Maritime Silk Road is being threatened and it needs to take some action, the most vulnerable country, obviously, will be India,” he remarked.
“Beijing’s military capabilities are huge compared to India’s,” he underlined, adding that the “running border dispute” with China remained a major security concern for New Delhi.
Sawhney opined that the “thinking within the Indian government” is that being close to the Washington could act as a “deterrence” against Beijing in view of the border differences.
India’s state broadcaster All India Radio has previously reported that the drills this year would take place between October 14th and 31st.
US Army Pacific (USARPAC) Major Jonathan Lewis said in August that the drills this year would focus on “cold weather” operations and high-altitude warfare.
While the joint military drills took place in Uttarakhand state in 2014, 2016 and 2018, this year would mark the first time when the exercises are taking so much away from the border.
These would also be the first joint drills to take place near the LAC since the eruption of the border standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops in the eastern Ladakh region, which lies some 1,200 kilometers north of Auli.
The previous edition of the drills took place in Alaska last October. In February 2021, the joint drills took place in Bikaner in India's Rajasthan state, located near the Pakistan border.
The 3,488-kilometre long and largely undemarcated Sino-India border runs from Ladakh region in the north to the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.