U.S.-India Relations
and the Indo-Pacific
T
he United States has always shared a common destiny with India and the IndoPacific region. From our first trading ships that departed for Guangzhou and Puducherry after the American Revolution, to our initial diplomatic presence in Kolkata in 1794, the United States has long been a part of what is now known as the Indo-Pacific. Over time, we have become increasingly connected with the region that stretches from the West Coast of the United States to the East Coast of Africa, through trade, culture, immigration, religion, and geopolitics. Americans across the country have been engaged with the Indo-Pacific, from financial firms on the East Coast to farms in the Midwest. But among the strongest ties have been with West Coast states, stretching from California to Alaska, as well as Pacific states and territories such as Hawaii, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands. The people and identities of these areas are connected with the waters, cultures, and development of the IndoPacific. Today, the Indo-Pacific is accepted as a clear geographical region. And it is indisputably at the center of the world’s attention and economic growth. This is the result of the Indo-Pacific’s remarkable transformation in the last few decades, largely made possible by a free, open, and rules-based order that has enabled countries to prosper as sovereign states. Today, the region accounts for over half of the world’s population and 58 percent of the world’s youth. The Indo-Pacific constitutes 60 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), and two-thirds of global growth in GDP. It is also home to some of the world’s largest militaries, as well as multiple disagreements about territory and borders.
As the world’s oldest and largest democracies, the United States and India share a unique responsibility to promote peace and prosperity in the region. We both believe that this century will be an Indo-Pacific century, and that the U.S.-India relationship will be at its core. 16 JANUARY/APRIL 2021
