US defence bill pushes for deeper strategic ties with India

The latest US defence policy bill shows the need to deepen America’s strategic engagement with India, particularly via the Quad, in order to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific and collectively address the strategic challenge posed by China.

The National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026, released by Congressional leaders Sunday (7), outlines the ‘sense of Congress on Defence Alliances and Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region'. It states that the Secretary of Defence should continue efforts that strengthen US defence alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region to further the "comparative advantage of the US in strategic competition" with China.

Among other things, these efforts comprise "broadening US engagement with India, including through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue to advance the shared objective of a free and open Indo-Pacific region through bilateral and multilateral engagements and participation in military exercises, expanded defence trade, and collaboration on humanitarian aid and disaster response". It also includes enabling greater cooperation on maritime security with New Delhi.

The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprising India, the US, Japan, and Australia, was set up in 2017 to counter China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region. The defence policy bill also states that the Secretary of Defence, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall establish and maintain a security initiative to strengthen cooperation among the defence industrial bases of the US and allied and partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

This, it said, would strengthen the collective defence industrial base by expanding capability, capacity, and workforce, including enhanced supply chain security, interoperability, and resilience among participating countries. The two Secretaries shall establish a process to determine which allies and partners of the US (including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, the Philippines, and New Zealand) shall be invited to participate as member countries of the security initiative, it said.

In a section titled ‘Joint Assessment Between The United States And India On Nuclear Liability Rules', the draft calls on the Secretary of State to establish and maintain within the US-India Strategic Security Dialogue a joint consultative mechanism with the Indian government. This mechanism would convene regularly to "assess the implementation of the Agreement for Cooperation between the US Government and Government of India Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, signed in Washington in 2008," it said.

The focus of this mechanism is to discuss opportunities for India “to align domestic nuclear liability rules with international norms; and to develop a strategy for the United States and the Republic of India to pursue bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagements related to analyzing and implementing those opportunities.” The bill states that the Secretary of State shall submit a report describing the joint assessment not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, and annually thereafter for five years.

In another section, the bill states that an “ally or partner nation" means the government of any country that is a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; the Government of the Republic of India, and the Government of any country designated as an ally or partner nation by the Secretary of State for purposes of this section.