ABSTRACT
Indo-US relations therefore, have not been free of difficulty. Nonetheless, cooperation has emerged even in the sensitive area of military and security relations. Strong bilateral ties and a sense of mutual trust between India and the United States have, however, remained elusive. To determine how and why India and the United States have found it possible to cooperate in some areas, yet found it difficult to solidify strong ties, this paper takes a closer look at the history of Indo-U.S. cooperation, especially in the most critical area of defense. Its central focus is on the development of cooperative Indo-US defense relations-specifically on how these relations emerged and how, based on such experience, they may develop. The paper suggests that Indo-US defense cooperation was possible on the basis of specific reciprocity, and that through such specific exchanges the pattern of cooperation may deepen and evolve, leading to stronger relations based on trust.
