India and the United States have increasingly similar conceptions of Asian security: both want cooperation with China in building a network of relationships with the other significant powers in East and Southeast Asia, while neither wants China to emerge as the dominant regional power. While this strategic convergence will continue, India does not fit simply into U.S. Asia policy, given India’s policy of “strategic autonomy.” How can policymakers promote a closer U.S.-India relationship without triggering either Chinese concerns about containment or Indian concerns about entrapment?

In this Q&A, Shivshankar Menon (Brookings Institution) argues that despite increasing convergence between the United States and India on China, a strategic triangle has not yet emerged. He maintains that China is not a key driver of Indian engagement with the United States and that the deepening Indo-U.S. relationship has not caused a Chinese response. Ambassador Menon discusses options for strengthening bilateral Indo-U.S. cooperation and initiating new trilateral dialogues.