ABSTRACT
It was only under the administration of George W. Bush, especially in its second term from 2005 to 2009, that Washington seemed to more explicitly factor India into its calculus while formulating policies towards China. This period saw an extraordinary American strategic outreach to India, which was surprisingly reciprocated by a warm response from Delhi. Bush reversed decades of old domestic laws and bent the global nonproliferation regime to end India’s prolonged international nuclear isolation. India, on its part, departed from its tradition of military isolationism and laid the foundation for a consequential military partnership with the United States. Since then Beijing has paid greater attention to the developments in US-India relations and has often responded to what it considered unacceptable moves by Washington and Delhi. India, in turn, has closely watched the twists and turns in US-China ties and adapted itself to the uncertain dynamic between Washington and Beijing.2
