Critical of Indian silence on Russia, US Congressman supports deeper India-US ties

Ro Khanna argued that that the US was not asking India to cut off all its oil imports or defence ties, but censure Vladimir Putin, and this should be an ‘easy call’ for India since it had never entertained territorial expansionist ambitions itself.

While critical of India’s refusal to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine, Congressman Ro Khanna - one of the four Indian-Americans in the US House of Representatives - has said that he will champion deeper India-US defence ties for a future where India procures 60% of its defence needs from the US and Europe rather than Russia, and support greater India-US partnership in defence manufacturing in India.

A gas station burns after Russian attacks in the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine on Wednesday. (AFP)

In an interview, Khanna also said that he believes that India-US relations are currently at their strongest in the history of independent India, but reiterated his call for India to clearly condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations - “which seems like the least ask”.

He argued that that the US was not asking India to cut off all its oil imports or defence ties, but censure Vladimir Putin, and this should be an “easy call” for India since it had never entertained territorial expansionist ambitions itself; this would also still give it leverage over Russia.

When asked about the state of the bilateral relationship, Khanna - who is associated with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party - said, “Strong. The US and India have to have a very close strong alliance in the 21st century. We are both democracies founded on the basis of pluralism, respect for markets, and the alliance is going to be critical as we see an expansionist and rising China. The alliance also can help lead for advances in technology, science, in tackling climate change. I would say, overall, the relationship is probably the strongest that it’s been since India’s Independence.”

On the areas of divergences, the Congressman said that the fact that India still gets 60% of its weapons from Russia is a “huge issue”. “Obviously, recently, the fact that India has not been clear in the UN (United Nations) in censuring (Vladimir) Putin has been an issue. It’s because that seems like the least ask. It’s not even saying that they need to ban oil imports like we have done, but just to look at the horror in Ukraine, and to say that it’s wrong for a country to violate territorial sovereignty. So those are two areas of recent divergences.”

But would he be willing to champion deeper India-US defence ties, which would entail offering a better package to India in terms of pricing, technology, manufacturing and co-development - areas where Russia is seen as more accommodative of Indian concerns?

“Yes, I am. I have been, for my five years in Congress. I said India should get Nato status in its defence cooperation with the United States. It makes it harder for me to make that argument and build consensus when you have things like the abstention on the invasion. But, absolutely. I am still committed to doing that. And I think it’s figuring out how we move forward.”

Khanna said that the view in the US was that offers were made but India was still going to Russia, while the view in India seemed to be to want more. “So we have to cut past this and say, okay, how do we have targets for what we need, what India needs, and what can be done so that 60-70% of their defence cooperation is with the United States. And it seems to me that would be in India’s interest. I mean I don’t know why you would want Russian weapons after we have seen the performance these days.”

Khanna added that the US should also support India’s manufacturing capacity for defence, citing the example of Boeing’s partnerships in India.

When pointed to Indian concerns over the need to not push Moscow closer to Beijing because it would affect Indian security interests, Khanna said that if India condemned the invasion at UN, but still had ties on defence and oil, that would still give it leverage over Russia. “I would understand if the ask from the United States was cut off all your oil from Russia. And then you say, well, Germany’s not doing that. Or cut off all your defence. And you’re saying, how can we do that when we get 60%? But the ask from the United States is to speak out clearly at the United Nations to say that what Russia is doing is illegal, in invading Ukraine sovereignty.”

This, he claimed, should be relatively easy for India because it had not had “territorial expansionist ambitions”, and had been “relatively restrained” in its 75 years. “It would never dream of going and invading a sovereign country. So from India’s own values, it seems to me, that it should be an easy, easy call.”

Two months ago, as news about the possibility of the Russian invasion had picked up, Khanna had warned against getting distracted from the Indo-Pacific challenge. When asked if he was still apprehensive that the US would get distracted, Khanna said it would not. “If anything, this Putin experience has been a clear signal to China that they will be ostracised from the world if they were to try to invade a sovereign territory. I think it’s given probably Xi Jinping pause on any kind of expansionist design…I do think we need to bring this war to an end, both from a perspective of civilian casualties and a perspective of not being diverted militarily and in terms of the world’s resources, and that we should be pushing for. But I have no doubt we are capable of focusing at the same time on China.”