India & the US have moved to strengthen their strategic relationship by initiating what is known as ‘Two plus Two’ diplomacy.
What is ‘Two plus Two’?
In foreign policy parleys, ‘Two plus Two’ is the term used for the institutionalisation of a dialogue mechanism between two countries consisting of the key ministries of defence & external affairs.
The 2+2 format draws on a framework Japan used for its strategic interactions with the US, France, Russia and Australia.
India & Japan too have a similar mechanism between them since 2010.
What are the contours of the recent Indo-US initiative?
Hopes - Diplomats in both the countries hope that the mechanism will place the strategic and security interests between the two countries on centre stage.
This they believe would help in better handling of common challenges like Chinese aggression & West Asia crisis.
Cautions - Both countries need to resist being seduced by the idea that process alone can resolve the issues in the relationship.
It is to be noted that, there are now over 60 India-US bilateral institutions but there is also mounting ire in Washington DC over what it sees as New Delhi’s chronic failure to use them to their potential.
Bureaucratic inertia, legal issues, suspicions of the other’s motives are sticky points that needs to be addressed.
Lack of clarity on what the two seek from the other strategic relationship is also a source of worry.
More specifically, the existence of a dialogue mechanism alone will not itself insulate the strategic relationship from the fallout of simmering rows over intellectual property rights and trade.
