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The upcoming Trump-Modi meeting has the potential to significantly contribute to both regional and global security and prosperity.
By KSENIA SVETLOVA FEBRUARY 9, 2025 01:52
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), his wife, Sara Netanyahu (L) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talk during a visit to the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad on January 17, 2018
(photo credit: SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)
As Washington and New Delhi prepare for the high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, defense cooperation takes center stage.
This strategic meeting is poised to be transformative. A recent call between US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has set the groundwork for what could be a defining moment in US-India relations.
The meeting comes at a critical juncture in global security.
Beyond traditional defense considerations, both nations face evolving challenges from China’s expanding influence across multiple domains—cybersecurity, space technology, maritime trade, and artificial intelligence.
The $400 billion China-Iran Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has heightened these concerns, particularly for US allies in the Middle East.
India and the United States are eager to deepen their strategic partnership across several key areas.
Defense technology sharing, joint military exercises, and cybersecurity cooperation are expected to feature prominently in their discussions.
Their partnership also extends to critical infrastructure initiatives, most notably the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The IMEC represents far more than just a trade route—it serves as a strategic counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
While the BRI has enabled China to gain control over critical infrastructure through debt-trap diplomacy and state-directed investments, IMEC offers a transparent, market-driven alternative.
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Spanning 4,500 kilometers and connecting India to Europe via the Middle East, IMEC significantly reduces shipping times and provides partner nations with infrastructure development opportunities while safeguarding their sovereignty.
What is the significance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor?
The corridor’s strength lies in its diverse partnership structure: India’s technological and logistical capabilities, Israel’s innovation and strategic position in the Mediterranean via the Port of Haifa, the UAE’s financial resources and infrastructure expertise, and Europe’s market access and technological advancements.
Unlike the BRI, which promotes Chinese control over vital assets, IMEC ensures that infrastructure development benefits all participating nations while maintaining their strategic independence.
The corridor also enhances global supply chain resilience, mitigating the risks associated with economic coercion and over-reliance on Chinese-controlled trade routes.
Currently, crucial global trade arteries—such as the Malacca Strait, Strait of Hormuz, and Bab el-Mandab—are increasingly vulnerable to Chinese influence.
Given China’s indirect support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels during the war in Gaza, Israel should be particularly concerned. By purchasing large quantities of Iranian oil, China indirectly funds the Houthis through Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which channels resources to its proxies.
American intelligence sources have reportedly revealed that the Houthis are using Chinese weapons for their assaults on shipping in the Red Sea while refraining from attacking Chinese vessels.
The Houthis’ disruptions in the Bab el-Mandab Strait threaten global trade security.
Recent developments further highlight the urgency of countering China’s growing influence.
Senator Marco Rubio’s recent trip to Panama to counter China’s increasing presence in the Panama Canal, as well as the Panamanian government’s subsequent reassessment of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) commitments, indicate that the US is beginning to grasp the stakes and is prepared to confront the challenge.
Israel’s role in this evolving strategic landscape is significant. The Israel-India defense relationship, worth over $10 billion annually in military and cybersecurity technology, has become a crucial component of regional security architecture.
Private-sector engagement has further strengthened these ties, with multinational companies from India making strategic investments in Israeli infrastructure and technology sectors.
One such company, the Adani Group, is of strategic importance in the geopolitical triangle of US-India-Israel.
This Indian conglomerate holds a 70% stake in the Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in ventures such as military drone production and plans to manufacture commercial semiconductors.
This group is also actively acquiring strategic ports across the Indo-Pacific, challenging China’s monopoly with independent infrastructure development and building alternative supply chains essential for preventing Chinese dominance.
Adani is one of the only private companies globally capable of simultaneously developing and operating key infrastructure—ports, power plants, airports, roads, data centers, transmission grids, and logistics chains.
Unlike China’s state-driven model, this entity operates independently of government control, making it a more reliable partner for nations wary of economic coercion.
The significance of this competition was underscored last year when the company faced an aggressive short-seller attack and legal challenges from the US Department of Justice—moves that directly benefited China.
What is the success of this alliance built upon?
The success of this alliance of US strategic partners depends on continued coordination between government policy and the private sector.
Companies capable of developing and operating strategic infrastructure while maintaining independence from state-directed economic imperialism are crucial partners in this effort and must be supported.
To effectively counter China’s dominance, the US and its allies will have to cultivate multiple Adani-like players across partner nations—companies capable of providing world-class infrastructure without falling under state-directed economic control.
These companies need strategic backing, policy support, and financial resources to scale against China’s subsidized expansion model.
Undermining firms like these through financial warfare, regulatory hurdles, or political miscalculations ultimately serves Beijing’s interests.
These initiatives should not be solely driven by the US but by Israel as well.
A wake-up call for Israel
The Houthi attacks and their alliances with China and Iran should serve as a wake-up call for Israeli leadership. The realization of China’s BRI mega-project would place Israel in a significantly more difficult position during conflicts, disrupting trade not only for Israel but also for its allies while granting Iran substantial leverage.
The stakes are clear: The emerging partnership between democratic nations provides a crucial counterbalance to China’s expanding influence across multiple domains.
The US-India alliance, which includes key partners like Israel and the UAE, serves as a model for how democratic nations can collaborate to safeguard their strategic interests while promoting transparency and sovereignty.
The upcoming Trump-Modi meeting must enhance this strategic partnership, as it has the potential to significantly contribute to both regional and global security and prosperity.
Ksenia Svetlova is an Israeli expert on Middle Eastern affairs, a former member of the Knesset. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy
English (US) ·