A two-day conference explored Indian and U.S. views on security across the Indo-Pacific, identifying areas of mutual interest and disagreement. Discussions were informed by six papers discussing common approaches to bilateral security cooperation, Russian arms sales to India, and the challenges posed by China to regional security. This report contains those papers and a summary of the issues.

Conference Proceedings on Indian and U.S. Security Cooperation

Defense Production, Indo-Pacific Region, and Afghanistan

John V. Parachini, Rafiq Dossani, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Richard S. Girven, Yusuf Unjhawala, Abhijit Singh, Cortez A. Cooper III, Shanthie Mariet D'Souza

ResearchPublished Aug 16, 2023

Weapon exports and the provision of security and military services abroad by China and Russia serve as a means for both countries to extend their influence around the globe. How do such activities affect India — an emerging great power — and what do they mean for India-U.S. security cooperation?

A conference held on June 30 and July 1, 2022, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, was part of an ongoing project focusing on these questions. Participants explored Indian and U.S. views on important security issues across the Indo-Pacific and sought to identify areas of mutual interest and disagreement.

Discussions were informed by six papers — three from the RAND Corporation and three from the Observer Research Foundation — that discussed common approaches to bilateral security cooperation, Russian arms sales to India, and the challenges posed by China to regional security. This report contains those papers, along with a summary of the issues discussed.

Key Findings

Participants acknowledged transformational changes in India-U.S. relations, identified security-related areas in which to collaborate, and recognized impediments to cooperation to address

  • India wishes to lessen its dependency on Russia, develop its own defense ecosystem, and diversify its defense trade partners. This should present opportunities for the United States, but issues need to be addressed.
  • Indian colleagues stressed strengthening defense cooperation networks across micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises and startups to create sustainable supply chains.
  • Both countries should look for opportunities to advance logistics support and intelligence-sharing for military exercises and maritime operations, promote freedom of navigation, guarantee safe overflight, enforce antipiracy law, address drug trafficking, and enhance controls over the proliferation of materials and technology for weapons of mass destruction.
  • Both countries view China as a collaborator, competitor, and adversary. They also see the Quad (dialogue between the United States, Australia, Japan, and India) as being useful for security cooperation. India desires multilateral initiatives with the Quad and with Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to counter China's militarization in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean regions.
  • Participants recognized the humanitarian challenges in Afghanistan and that each government is taking steps corresponding to its abilities. The two countries should cooperate in counterterrorism efforts and share intelligence about the terrorist groups moving in and out of the area until the Taliban meets three requirements of the international community.
  • Both countries have a strong desire to convene a similar dialogue in the future.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
118 pages
List Price
$36.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2023
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 118
  • Paperback Price: $36.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-1-9774-1161-7
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/CFA2613-1
  • Document Number: CF-A2613-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Parachini, John V., Rafiq Dossani, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Richard S. Girven, Yusuf Unjhawala, Abhijit Singh, Cortez A. Cooper III, and Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Conference Proceedings on Indian and U.S. Security Cooperation: Defense Production, Indo-Pacific Region, and Afghanistan, RAND Corporation, CF-A2613-1, 2023. As of April 8, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CFA2613-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Parachini, John V., Rafiq Dossani, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Richard S. Girven, Yusuf Unjhawala, Abhijit Singh, Cortez A. Cooper III, and Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Conference Proceedings on Indian and U.S. Security Cooperation: Defense Production, Indo-Pacific Region, and Afghanistan. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CFA2613-1.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center within the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD).

This publication is part of the RAND conference proceeding series. Conference proceedings present a collection of papers delivered at a conference or a summary of the conference.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.