US India Relations-The Future of Strategic Technologies
Strategic Technology Exchange Between US and India
US India Relations-the Future of Strategic Technologies held under the auspices of a special event series on the occasion of Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center’s 40th Anniversary, "Asia in 2030, APARC@40" was held on Friday, May 5th.
Academics, researchers, professors, and private sector executives deliberated on topics ranging from the future of US-India cooperation, the evolution of India's defense industrial base, and the past, current and future of major power technology transfers between the two nations.
The experts discussed various ideas around the growth of US-India cooperation on strategic technologies and the recognition by Indian and U.S. governments that critical and emerging technologies-from artificial intelligence to clean energy and synthetic biology, are increasingly vital for national security and global influence and effective harnessing of these technologies requires the right mix of state policy, academic research, and private-sector-led innovation.
Keynote Speakers Highlight Trends and Policy Priorities
The keynote session of the event was headlined by Helena Fu, Director for Technology Alliances, National Security Council and Rudra Chaudhuri, Director of Carnegie India; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The speakers gave an overview of key trends and policy priorities for US and India and the bilateral relationship between the two nations in light of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) signed last year by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi. See Fact Sheet by the White House.
The American representative spoke about initiatives in space, semiconductor, defense and other sectors of partnership- not just between the two governments but also between the private sectors, universities and think tanks in the US and India.
She emphasized the importance of a cohesive framework and the approach beyond a single deal or one agency partnership with a counterpart in India and the treaty’s multi-tiered approach for long term success encompassing various areas of cooperation.
Helena highlighted the significance of building the habits of co-operation beyond institutional knowledge transfer and setting up a framework for enabling co-operation in a more systematic way and pointed out that a lot needs to happen on the regulatory side too.
The progress towards the strategic GE deal with India to jointly produce jet engines that could power jet aircrafts was touched upon.
In the short term she identified biotechnology, telecommunications, quantum information science for joint engagement as some key initiatives.
“Aligning funding mechanisms, knowledge expertise and congressionally approved budget on our side are also critical,” pointed Helena.
In the same vein, the Indian representative emphasized the unseen speed of transactions including the push towards de-regulation across varied industries and a very high activity level across various industries like semiconductor, space and others happening in India propelled by the iCET.
The eight critical areas for the Indian Government in the near term include-semiconductors, self-reliance, space, defense, bio economy, quantum, super computers and AI according to Rudra.
Success Factors of the Treaty
While recognizing the long term and multi-tiered setup of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), the experts recognize the need for India to build its hardware capabilities.
Some areas for long term cooperation where strategic strengths of both sides come into play that need more academic research include policy research on export controls, mapping of computing power in the various regions in the world, and comparative regulation.
Areas identified by Helena of future areas of cooperation between the US and India include Advanced materials, Bio economy, Climate and Sustainability. “Mechanism of working together is the difference between success and failure,” opines Helena in context of iCET initiatives being drawn in the first phase of partnership.
Policy experts on both sides recognized the significance of long term regulatory certainty for success of the partnership.
China and India’s Asymmetric Advantages
While recognizing China’s current superiority to India in semiconductors, supercomputers, quantum and space technology, the experts pointed at India’s potential to compete with China in the long run because of some of India’s strengths such as friendships and partnerships with other nations across various continents, that China lacks.
The other strategic advantage of India over China is its open inter-operable infrastructure allowing it to have partnerships with over fifty nations and spanning payment architecture and data exchanges across varied verticals and industries.
India’s Defense and Tech Landscape
The two research presentations examined how India has sought to develop its defense industrial sector, with new partnerships and private sector involvement, and an aspirational goal of indigenization; and how the US and India have traditionally managed the expectations, conditions, and anticipated returns of high technology transfers.
The research papers were critically evaluated by discussants who drew from both academic scholarship and personal experience as technology-sector practitioners.
India’s Growth As a Strategic Regional Partner-Challenges & Solutions
The first paper by Joshua T. White, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies identified India’s growth as a strategic regional partner and identified areas of improvement such as a need for more research and development investments by India, exclusion of the private section in research initiatives, US’s ongoing hesitation in sharing technology, India’s penchant for acquiring systems from unsavory sources and slow development on co production.
Professor White mentioned US’s desire for India to manage its security in the area but unpreparedness of India’s overall security infrastructure to do this and political reflexes in both nations hindering progress on technological collaboration.
Some of the solutions proposed by Professor White include India to have modest defense development goals to prevent failure and the US to provide beyond strategic assurance to prevent India from looking at other supply partners as was done for procurement of S-400 Air Defense System.
He added that identification of focal areas within the iCET framework that utilizes India’s strategic niche and comparative advantage in areas such as AI and robotics instead of high end manufacturing would be great instead of a broad unfocused approach.
Technology Sharing Transfers
The second paper on Transactionalism Revisited? Unpacking the Logic of Major Power Technology Transfers" presented by Sameer Lalwani, Senior Expert of South Asia Programs; U.S. Institute of Peace uncovered the degree and generosity of sharing happening between major powers in the 21 st century with rising powers.
Dr Lalwani spoke about sharing of both technology and knowledge where technology includes capabilities for operational use and production and design knowledge in the light of alignment of interests, strategic enablement and commercial interests.
He pointed out that the US shares more with nations like Australia and Japan due to trust built over decades.
He elucidated that technology sharing from the US to India will come with some expectations from the US such as military reconnaissance and working level trust between the two nations can gradually increase via efforts such as joint peacetime missions, public good and a specific effort that India has recently undertaken of joining the Combined Maritime Task Force.
Shalini Kathuria Narang is a software professional and a freelance journalist. She has reported for national and international newspapers, magazines and news sites. She is also a poet and her poems have been published in several anthologies including Starry Nights: Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley and Pixie Dust and All Things Magical. She is a monthly contributor to Masticadores USA and has been published on Spillwords Press and San Antonio Press. She is originally from New Delhi and currently resides in the Bay Area, California.
