In early June 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Delhi on separate trips. [1] [2] These forward envoys were a preamble of a roadmap for defence industry cooperation between India and the U.S., two countries navigating a roller coaster dynamic of approaches and controversies in the last decade, especially after the crisis of Russia in Ukraine and the neutral foreign policy that India has deployed. A few weeks later, agreements on co-produced high-tech military features, cooperation in spatial scientific efforts, innovation, artificial intelligence, and other unspecified fields were sealed with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington from June 21-23,[3] where U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed him with pomp.
It is not the beginning of a new chapter in the foreign relations of two major powers – that began in 2000, with the visit of President Bill Clinton. But the breadth of agreements like these is a meaningful step in a global trend that implies the need for balance, diversification, and long-term strategic planning involving autonomy. President Biden described the progress and diplomatic achievements between India and the U.S. as part of a defining relationship of the 21st century.[4]
Those words must not be underestimated. A deeper bilateral agenda between India and U.S. might potentially have an impact on the shaping of the Indo-Pacific geopolitical script in the coming years, considering the deterrence expansion capabilities and the increasing cooperation with third strategic partners like Australia and Japan—also members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with the U.S. and India—even beyond the defence branch. The political, scientific, development and economic gains are worthy of the boost given.
The press in Mexico has covered this chronology of events, mainly interpreting press releases of U.S.-based media or isolated statements, usually simplifying them. Most reports portray this as a movement to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific or to pull apart India’s relationship with Russia, mainly comprising arms and oil imports; [5] [6] perhaps this represents a narrative easy to sell and spread in newspaper headlines. But in fact, the first state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington and the signature of the Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership are developments that cannot be belittled regionally or internationally.
One of the most influential columns about international affairs in Mexico’s media, published in El Universal and titled Why is the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Washington crucial, [7] has more influence on public opinion and provides an understanding of the global implications. It highlights cut-crossing elements like energy, foreseen areas of political cooperation and the Indian perspective of these diplomatic accords.
The importance of diversification of defence imports is not a break with prior alignments but is a reality full of interdependency connections. The need for partnerships to facilitate development and well-being is not achievable through solo efforts. The India-U.S. interdependency approach represents a bridge that offers teamwork options in the Indo-Pacific and further.
Where, then, does Mexico fit in? The U.S. is Mexico’s most crucial economic partner, while India offers excellent opportunities for cooperation in broader areas. Medicine, investments, supply chains, and innovation aim to foster bilateral relations. The recently inaugurated Mexican Consulate in Mumbai—a diplomatic office focused on innovation, investment in science and technology and finance—[8], besides the Embassy in Delhi, is an example of the Mexican foreign policy will to support this pattern. For Mexico, the Indo-Pacific should not be a barrier but a gathering point in the same way South Asia has become a region for cooperation. India has harvested a strong presence, and its lead in the upcoming G20 summit will have room to explore dialogue opportunities and consolidate others.
Indo-U.S. collaborations therefore, are welcome news in Mexico and Latin America due to the opportunities they represent. Mexico is one of the main gateways to the North American market and an established corridor for supply chains across the Pacific and the Atlantic— some embedded in the defence industry. It has existing connectivity and a respectable near-shoring status. The North America Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada makes exports to the U. S. easier for multinationals located in Mexico. The existing manufacturing base makes Mexico a natural bet for investments and a platform for efficient export of goods to the U.S. A Mexico-India-U.S. triad is promising especially with the high-tech industry, innovation, and sustainability transitions as the starting point. In parallel, Mexico and India can continue the dialogues about maintaining peace, international security and sustainable development as they did in 2022 when both were non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Mexico should understand the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Washington in terms of maintaining a diversified cooperation agenda. These dialogues bestow strategic benefits for both and certainty to the international community. On the other hand, polarisation narratives are traps to avoid; privileging mutual interests is the most straightforward antidote to them.
A fresh breeze is blowing via the BRICS, which has built a diplomatic platform with a pragmatic narrative that consistently turns down geopolitical rivalries. India’s foreign policy of cooperating in tandem with several actors fits in the framework that the BRICS have proposed,[9] and it can become a precedent for future approaches with other actors in Latin America and Europe that are close to the U.S. as well.
Octavio Paz, laureate of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature, was one of the first Mexicans appointed to India in early 1951 for a brief visit. He returned as an Ambassador of Mexico to India a decade later. The diplomat and poet wrote among a dozen books between 1962 and 1968, but Vislumbres de la India [10] (In Light of India), released in the 1990s, stands out as an unforgettable memoir of those years. The book highlights elements that unite India and Mexico in a landscape that covers two of the wealthiest cultures, vast pages of shared history and diversity, but also reflects two countries facing global challenges and a permanent desire to build geopolitical and representative identities.
Both tasks have endured until today. Through the turbulence of the geopolitical order and the evolution of national realities, cooperation and a shared agenda is still the answer for Mexico and India.
Mauricio D. Aceves is Author in Foreign Affairs Latin America on contemporary Middle East and Central Asia issues.
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References
[1] Krishn Kaushik, “India approves procurement of U.S. MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones”, Reuters, Aerospace & Defense, June 15, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/india-approves-procurement-us-mq-9b-seaguardian-drones-sources-2023-06-15/
[2] Sameer P. Lalwani, et all, “Modi’s Trip to Washington Marks New Heights in U.S.-India Ties
What’s behind the dramatic increase in strategic cooperation? One word: China”, United States Institute of Peace, June 20, 2023. https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/06/modis-trip-washington-marks-new-heights-us-india-ties
[3] U. S. Department of State, “Secretary Antony J. Blinken At the U.S.-India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit”, U. S. Department of State, June 12, 2023. https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-the-u-s-india-business-councils-india-ideas-summit/
[4] Ídem.
[5] El Economista, “Biden y Modi tejen cooperación en defensa y comercio”, El Economista, Internacionales, June 22, 2023. https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/internacionales/Biden-y-Modi-tejen-cooperacion-en-defensa-y-comercio-20230622-0121.html
[6] Marissa Espinosa, “Biden y Modi profundizarán en la cooperación entre EU e India”, Fuerza Informativa Azteca, June 21, 2023. https://www.tvazteca.com/aztecanoticias/joe-biden-narendra-modi-cooperacion-eu-india
[7] Mauricio Meschoulam, “¿Por qué es crucial la visita del primer ministro de India a Washington?”, El Universal, June 24, 2023. https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/opinion/mauricio-meschoulam/por-que-es-crucial-la-visita-del-primer-ministro-de-india-a-washington/
[8] Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) de México, “In Mumbai, India, Foreign Secretary Ebrard inaugurates the first consulate focused on innovation and investment in science and technology”, SRE, March 07, 2023. https://www.gob.mx/sre/articulos/in-mumbai-india-foreign-secretary-ebrard-inaugurates-the-first-consulate-focused-on-innovation-and-investment-in-science-and-technology-328360#:~:text=Foreign%20Secretary%20Marcelo%20Ebrard%20today,%2Dfood%20sectors%2C%20among%20others.
[9] China Briefing, “The Putin-Xi Summit – Their Joint Statement and Analysis”, Chin Briefing, March 22, 2023. https://www.china-briefing.com/news/the-putin-xi-summit-their-joint-statement-and-analysis/
[10] https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000106434