India Refuses to Buy F-35, the White House Didn't Expect New Delhi to Be So Bold: Now There's Trouble!

As soon as the White House suddenly announced that it would impose a 25% tariff on Indian goods from August 1st, New Delhi immediately responded formally, rejecting the U.S. proposal and announcing the cancellation of the F-35 procurement. When the U.S. personally promoted the F-35 in February, Washington was confident of a sure win. After all, the Indian Air Force had recently suffered combat setbacks and urgently needed a weapon to counter the J-35.

The White House didn't expect that, under the pressure of the J-35 stealth fighter, India still chose to shut the door on the F-35. This "boldness" behind is the firm promotion of Modi's "Self-Reliant India" strategy. When the U.S. hesitated on technology transfer, Russia had already revealed its ace. In July, Moscow proposed three major cooperation plans to New Delhi, each directly addressing India's desire for "technological autonomy": collaboration on the Su-57E stealth fighter can achieve a 60% domesticization rate, supporting India's missile and radar integration, and 220 Sukhoi aircraft production lines are ready at any time.

India believes itself to be an important power. Now, the White House imposes 15% tariffs on the EU and Japan, why should it be 25% on India?

India is a key pillar of the U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy," leading the Quad (U.S.-Japan-India-Australia) security dialogue, participating in joint military exercises targeting China (such as the "Malabar" exercise). The U.S. needs India to contain China's influence in the Indian Ocean, so even if India's cooperation with Russia angers the U.S., the White House cannot completely break up with India, which is the biggest confidence of New Delhi.

After purchasing Russian oil in rupees, India resells it to Europe at a high price in dollars. In 2024, only energy transshipment trade brought over $12 billion in profits. This kind of no-cost, high-profit business makes India hard to cut ties with the Russia-India energy link. The proud superpower America meets India, a country more proud than itself, will inevitably spark some sparks. However, it was unexpected that India was so bold this time, which somewhat disappointed the White House.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839220527075340/

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