The United States is reshaping its Asia strategy as it accepts that China can no longer be contained at an acceptable economic or military cost. This shift is reducing India’s strategic importance in Washington’s calculations while expanding US engagement across South Asia. As both the US and China compete for influence in India’s neighbourhood, New Delhi must act to preserve its strategic autonomy and rewire regional leadership.

The shift in American approach is driven by declining influence and a series of strategic setbacks. In Europe, the Ukraine war has imposed high financial and military costs on Washington, which now wants European nations to shoulder more of NATO’s burden. In the Middle East, the Iran war proved costly for the US. Iran was not subdued, while attacks on US bases in Gulf countries weakened confidence in America’s security guarantees and made close ties with Washington appear riskier for regional stability. Old US partners such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expanding ties with China.

In the Indo-Pacific, despite housing thousands of troops and maintaining military alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and many ASEAN countries, and being part of frameworks such as the Quad and the Australia–UK–US Security Partnership, the US faces a different reality. China has become the largest trading partner for most economies in the region, and Asian manufacturing supply chains remain deeply tied to the Chinese industry. This economic dependence has made many governments reluctant to fully align with US strategic objectives........

© Indian Express