Not really a “hedge” against China

A lot of folks, particularly conservatives, see the India nuclear deal as part of a smart, larger strategy of containing China. The Carnegie Endowment's Ashley Tellis, a brilliant scholar who played a role in facilitating the deal, does a good job of nixing that narrative in his recent Senate testimony (pdf):

[T]he Administration’s policy of developing a new global partnership with India represents a considered effort at “shaping” the emerging Asian environment to suit American interests in the twenty-first century.

This should not be interpreted as some kind of thinly veiled code signifying the polite containment of China, which many argue is in fact the Administration’s secret intention. Such claims are, in my judgment, erroneous. A policy of containing China is neither feasible nor necessary for the United States at this point in time. Further, it is not at all obvious that India, currently, has any interest in becoming part of any coalition aimed at containing China. Rather, the objective of strengthening ties with India is part of alarger—and sensible—Administration strategy of developing good relations with all the major Asian states.