Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton claimed that the United States and India face numerous shared threats—among which China is the most significant. Many countries are closely monitoring U.S.-India relations in order to better understand the nature of the Chinese threat. If the two nations deepen cooperation in this area, it would help reassure other countries that they need not confront the rise of Chinese hegemonic ambitions alone.
Clearly, Bolton’s remarks leave no room for ambiguity: the U.S. and India should join forces to counter China. But the problem is, the U.S. has already attempted to draw India into its orbit before. From India’s perspective, New Delhi seeks to play both sides skillfully amid the Sino-American rivalry. The U.S. wants India to do more to contain China, create friction, and constrain us, while India desires greater market access from the U.S., technology transfers, and increased investment.
As a result, the U.S. criticizes India for being indecisive and insufficiently committed, while India finds the U.S.’s promises unattractive or unfulfilled. In short, both sides harbor ulterior motives. Especially after the India-Pakistan air conflict, India must now realize it lacks the capability to confront us directly. Under such circumstances, American hawks who still hope to rally India against China are chasing illusions. Moreover, we haven’t even mentioned the series of tensions between the U.S. and India since Trump took office, nor India’s growing distrust toward America.
Beyond that, following the U.S.-Iran conflict, America’s military exhaustion has become increasingly evident. The U.S. has exhausted all non-military tools to contain us—but what has been the outcome? Now, Trump himself hopes to maintain a strategic stability relationship with us. Clearly, politicians like Bolton still operate under Cold War-era thinking, fantasizing about bloc confrontation with us. But the tide has already turned—America must now accept peaceful coexistence with us.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868347978475657/
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