The United States views India's gradual reduction in Russian oil imports and its deepening defence partnership with Washington as a strategic gain that strengthens the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, a senior US official told lawmakers during a key congressional hearing this week.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs S. Paul Kapur made the remarks while testifying before a House subcommittee, as members questioned the Trump administration's approach toward India's continued purchases of discounted Russian crude and its long-standing defence ties with Moscow.
Asked by a lawmaker how the US plans to "enforce or measure" whether India has stopped buying Russian oil, Kapur acknowledged that there is no rigid enforcement mechanism in place. "I don't know the details of how that's going to be worked out," he said but stressed that Washington has already seen movement in the direction it wants. India, Kapur noted, has been "reducing their purchases of Russian oil and diversifying away from it", while at the same time increasing purchases of American energy.
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The comments come at a sensitive moment in US-India relations, following the release of a joint statement and factsheet outlining progress toward an interim trade agreement. Officials on both sides have indicated that such a deal could be signed as early as mid-March, raising expectations of closer economic alignment alongside growing strategic cooperation.
India's purchases of Russian oil surged after the invasion of Ukraine, as New Delhi took advantage of steep discounts while maintaining that its energy decisions are driven by national interest. Washington has publicly avoided sanctioning India over the issue, opting instead for quiet diplomacy and encouragement to diversify energy sources - an approach Kapur's testimony appeared to reinforce.
Beyond energy, Kapur highlighted expanding defence cooperation as another pillar of the relationship. He pointed to potential US weapon system sales "in the pipeline" that would help India protect its sovereignty while also supporting American manufacturing jobs. Such deals, he argued, are not only transactional but strategically significant.
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"An India that can be independent and stand up for itself and preserve its freedom of action actually works to our strategic advantage and promotes our strategic interests," Kapur told the panel. He framed India's growing military and economic strength as a direct counterweight to China's regional ambitions.
In some of his strongest language on the geopolitical stakes, Kapur said that a capable and self-reliant India "takes a huge swathe of the Indo-Pacific off China's plate" and "almost by definition prevents it from becoming a dominant power in the region." He added that India does not need to act as a proxy for US interests for this to matter. "They don't have to go far afield to support our strategic interests," he said, arguing that India's independent rise itself constitutes "a strategic win for us."
The testimony underscores Washington's increasingly pragmatic approach to India – one that prioritises long-term strategic convergence over short-term policy differences. That calculus is also evident in the parallel push on trade, where negotiators are working to lock in early gains through an interim agreement covering market access, supply chains, and critical sectors, even as more complex issues are deferred.
Together, the trade talks, rising US energy exports to India, and prospective defence deals signal a relationship that is becoming broader and more resilient. Kapur's remarks suggest that, from Washington's perspective, incremental shifts in India's policies, rather than absolute alignment, are sufficient, so long as they contribute to the larger goal of a strong, independent India shaping the regional balance in the Indo-Pacific.
