If the US allows shale gas exports to India, it will not only help address the Asian nation’s energy needs and strengthen bilateral relationship, but also end up being a game changer for the US interests in the region, say experts. “The US has this great leverage, in terms of energy exports,” former IMF economist, Arvind Subramanian, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Dan Twining, a senior fellow for Asia at the German Marshall Fund of the US, also supported the move at the hearing and argued that this would help the US build its security architecture in the Asia Pacific region.

He said: “We should also particularly build in that dimension to our key security partnerships in Asia. In Asia, our top most important, most capable security partnerships are with Japan and India in different ways...

“...say to them, we have a national security interest in helping your economy and your military capacity, help us police this tough region in the world, create some ballast in Asia other than around China.”