During his presidency, Donald Trump launched several high-profile foreign policy and economic initiatives aimed at reshaping global alliances and countering Chinese influence. However, a closer look reveals that key strategic partner India often remained a hesitant participant, carefully calibrating its engagement rather than becoming a full-fledged 'taker'. This cautious approach underscores New Delhi's commitment to an independent foreign policy, even with a close partner like the United States.
The Blue Dot Network and India's Measured Embrace
One of the flagship initiatives introduced by the Trump administration was the Blue Dot Network (BDN), launched in November 2019. Conceptualized as a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the US, Japan, and Australia, its goal was to certify and promote high-quality, transparent global infrastructure development, directly offering an alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While India has profound concerns about the BRI and shares the BDN's stated principles, its official participation remained notably reserved.
India did not sign on as a founding member. Instead, it chose to engage as an observer, participating in meetings and expressing general support for the standards BDN promoted. This arms-length approach stemmed from a desire to avoid being seen as part of an overtly U.S.-led anti-China bloc and to preserve its own agency in regional infrastructure projects. New Delhi preferred to push its own initiatives, like the International Solar Alliance, or work through plurilateral formats like the Quad, where it felt it had more equitable footing.
The Abraham Accords: A Diplomatic Sideline for India
The Abraham Accords, brokered by the Trump administration in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE and Bahrain. While widely hailed in the U.S. and the involved countries as a historic breakthrough, India's response was diplomatically positive but strategically distant.
India welcomed the Accords, noting they could contribute to regional stability. However, it pointedly refrained from joining or endorsing the Accords as a formal participant. This decision was driven by India's delicate balancing act in the Middle East. Maintaining strong, independent ties with all parties—Israel, Iran, and the Arab Gulf states—is a cornerstone of its foreign policy. Formally aligning with a U.S.-brokered agreement perceived as an anti-Iran coalition would have jeopardized this balance and its crucial energy and security interests with Iran and other nations not part of the Accords.
Underlying Reasons for India's Strategic Reluctance
India's cautious stance towards these Trump-era initiatives was not born of disagreement on all fronts but from a calculated assessment of its national interests. Several key factors explain this reluctance.
First and foremost is India's deeply ingrained principle of strategic autonomy. Despite the warming partnership with the U.S., India has historically avoided entangling alliances that could limit its freedom of action. Joining initiatives perceived as too clearly 'made in America' conflicts with this principle.
Second, there was a palpable uncertainty about the longevity and commitment of Trump's policies. His administration's unpredictable and often transactional approach to diplomacy made long-term partners like India wary of over-investing in initiatives that might be abandoned by a subsequent administration. This volatility contrasted with India's preference for stable, predictable partnerships.
Finally, India has been developing its own parallel diplomatic and infrastructure frameworks. Rather than simply signing onto a U.S. blueprint, it seeks to be a co-creator of rules and projects. This was evident in its focus on the Quad (with the U.S., Japan, Australia) and regional connectivity projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor, where it plays a leading role.
The result was a partnership where cooperation was selective and context-dependent. India collaborated closely with the U.S. on military logistics agreements and the Quad's security dimension, but held back on fully embracing economic and diplomatic frameworks that it felt were not adequately tailored to its own strategic calculus or that risked its relationships with other crucial nations.
In conclusion, the Trump era highlighted a mature but complex phase in India-U.S. relations. While both nations found common cause in countering China and enhancing security ties, India demonstrated that it is no longer a passive recipient of foreign policy ideas from any capital, including Washington. Its responses to the Blue Dot Network and the Abraham Accords serve as clear case studies of a rising power asserting its own diplomatic priorities, choosing when to align and when to maintain a prudent distance, all in service of its own definition of national interest.
