Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, met Prime Minister Modi and, before the media, remarked that “if anything happens to India, we’ll take care of it as long as Modi is the PM.”
Many in Indian media may present this as some grand diplomatic endorsement. But there is something deeply unsettling about such a statement, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the last 12–18 months.
Geopolitics is not driven by friendship. Nations pursue interests, economic leverage and strategic advantage. Trump’s policies themselves reflect an America anxious about relative decline. Debt has ballooned, China is advancing faster than many expected, and one reality stands above all others: China’s near-monopoly over manufacturing and rare earth minerals. Even the G7’s own agenda revolves around reducing dependence on a country controlling over 60% of rare earth supplies. Curiously, everyone knows who that country is, yet nobody dares to name China with the same enthusiasm with which they invoke Russia. They speak loudly about sanctions against Moscow and solidarity with Ukraine, but tiptoe around Beijing. That alone says a lot.
Rare earths are central to AI, and AI will define economic power in this century. Washington knows that if China achieves decisive superiority, the balance of global power shifts irreversibly. The United States understands China’s game, but increasingly finds itself reacting rather than dictating.
During his first term, Trump viewed India as a counterweight to China. But American strategists also recognise that China itself rose partly because the US once used it as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union. They do not want to repeat what they consider a strategic mistake.
What many in Washington fail to appreciate is that China rose because the Chinese shaped that rise. India too is rising because Indians are shaping that rise. Neither civilisation is a Trojan horse waiting to be used by another power. One is a dragon already in flight; the other is a lion preparing to hunt.
Which is why Trump’s remark sounded less like a compliment and more like a reminder of hierarchy. Sovereign nations are not “taken care of” by others.
That raises uncomfortable questions. Is the Modi government genuinely pursuing Atmanirbhar Bharat, or are we gradually slipping into economic vassalage? We halted Operation Sindoor. We ignored Trump’s repeated mediation claims. We have remained silent even after three Indian nationals were killed by US forces without explanation.
Perhaps we are merely waiting for the right moment. Or perhaps we have already surrendered more strategic space than we realise.
Time will tell
0 Comments