Images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a huddle with the leaders of China and Russia do not presage the reordering of the international system.

However, they do highlight that the current tensions in US-India relations are not just a bilateral issue. They have wider implications, including for Australia’s relationship with India, which does not swim in its own undisturbed lane.

Strong US-India relations are not a prerequisite for strong Australia-India relations. But there is no question that the uplift in US-India ties, stretching back to their India nuclear deal framework of 2005, made the uplift in our own relationship with India easier, including the change in Australia’s position on exporting uranium to it.

Are we now seeing a reframing of the strategic rationale of US-India relations, or is this a dispute over trade and market access that will, in time, be resolved?

To pose that question invites an even bigger question. Is US President Donald Trump walking away from the idea of India as a crucial player in a collective pushback against China’s ambition to achieve regional hegemony?

Trump’s hefty tariffs against India reflect many factors: personal pique at its dismissal of his peace-making efforts in the four-day India-Pakistan war, adept positioning by Pakistan built on flattery and adding to the wallet of the Trump family, and........

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