Page 643 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

However, the 10-year deal features specific “India-related” adjustments to
secure India’s national interests. While the text of COMCASA is
confidential, India has ensured that it has full access to the relevant
equipment and there will be no disruptions. Data acquired through such

systems cannot be disclosed or transferred to any person or entity without
India’s consent.

India-US Defence Ties

In the twenty-first century, many tags attributed to India’s place in US grand

strategy and global geopolitics have emerged from Washington. India was
called a rising democratic power in a dynamic Asia. India was seen as “not
simply emerging” but as having “already emerged” in Asia and around the

world. Defence cooperation with India was viewed as “a linchpin” in the
rebalancing strategy towards Asia-Pacific. India has been designated a
“Major Defence Partner” of the United States.

Balancing China’s rise in the international system, and more particularly in
the Indo-Pacific region, is a clear strategic convergence between India and
the United States. However, India’s geographic proximity to China, and

India’s weaker capabilities as compared to both China and the United States,
limits India’s traction in this case. While an elementary practice of
geopolitics would see India engage with distant powers like the US to

balance against a proximate power like China, relations with the latter should
not be determined by the former.

Any assessment that US primacy in the international system and India’s rise

are mutually reinforcing needs a rethink for the sake of India’s interests. The
practice of India’s strategic autonomy has always been about creating traction
for the pursuit of India’s national interests, and India’s ability to do so will be

tested in how it manages its great power relationship with the United States.

42. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

INDIAN POLICE