Revival of US-China military channels unlikely to affect India’s strategic position

An announcement by the US and China to revive their dormant military communication channels does not appear to impact India-US defence ties or threaten New Delhi’s position on the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, sources said.

Reopening of these channels is also unlikely to alter India’s role in multilateral frameworks such as the Quad or its bilateral military partnership with Washington. However, officials acknowledged that India would need to maintain a delicate balance — deepening defence cooperation with the US even as trade frictions persist.

Military communication between the US and China was suspended after former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, which triggered a sharp protest from Beijing. These channels, including the Defence Consultative Talks and the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, are key mechanisms through which both sides manage tensions and prevent incidents from escalating.

The US has maintained similar military communication lines with the erstwhile Soviet Union since 1963 and post-1992 with Russia.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met last week on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Malaysia. On Sunday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he had met China’s Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun, and both agreed to strengthen communication, maintain stability in bilateral ties and “set up military-to-military channels to deconflict and de-escalate any problems that arise”.

Just last week, India and the US signed a new 10-year defence cooperation framework aimed at deepening military coordination, intelligence sharing and technological collaboration. Similar frameworks were signed in 2005 and 2015.

The latest pact comes as the two countries step up cooperation on advanced defence technologies and space-based systems. Joint production of aero engines is under discussion, and India recently approved the purchase of armed Predator drones. Both sides also share real-time maritime domain information.

By contrast, the US-China defence relationship has long been fraught. The US Department of Defence’s 2013 report to Congress had stated that “China utilised its intelligence services and employed other illicit approaches involving violations of US laws and export controls to obtain key national security technologies and controlled equipment”.