How permanent is the new U.S.-India strategic partnership?

WHILE ONE can argue that no positive bilateral relationship is "permanent" in the very long run, it is safe to say that the alignment between India and the United States is now an enduring part of the international landscape of the 21^st century. The vital interests of both Washington and New Delhi are now so congruent that the two countries can and will find many ways in which to cooperate in the decades ahead. Over time, the U.S.-India relationship will come more and more to resemble the intimate U.S. interaction with Japan and our European treaty allies.

It must be stressed that this in no way means that India and the United States will agree on every policy issue. Nor do I foresee any formal treaty of alliance being signed, one that would, say, integrate the two countries’ militaries in some sort of cooperative structure like NATO or the U.S.-Japanese security alliance.