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Commentary
Wall Street Journal

US-India Relations from 15,000 Feet

In Trump, New Delhi thinks it has a friend who will help it stand up to China. We’ll see.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
In this picture taken on April 5, 2023, motorbike riders cross into the snow laden Himalayan Sela pass in Tawang in northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) (Photo by ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Motorbike riders cross into the snow laden Himalayan Sela pass in Arunachal Pradesh on April 5, 2023. (Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images)

Tawang, the regional center of a tiny slice of India wedged between Bhutan and China in a far-flung corner of India’s northeast Arunachal Pradesh state, is off the beaten track for foreign visitors. But from here the promise and complexity of the U.S.-India relationship are easy to see.

Our local host was the India Foundation, which has close relations with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Thanks to the foundation, a small delegation organized by the 91ÆÞÓÑ Institute (my think tank base in Washington) had been cleared to visit this sensitive border region. After about a three-hour flight from New Delhi, we boarded a helicopter for a 70-minute flight over Bhutan before landing at Tawang.

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