3 dead, no apology: US strike strains relations with India

AI Summary

The US Navy’s strike killing three Indian sailors has strained diplomatic ties between the US and India. India’s External Affairs Minister formally protested to the US Secretary of State, emphasizing the seriousness of the incident amidst existing strategic partnerships.

For years, Washington described India as an indispensable partner, a democratic counterweight to China and a strategic anchor in the Indo-Pacific. Then the US Navy killed three Indian sailors and America’s top diplomat could not even bring himself to apologise. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised the deaths directly with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call last Friday, reiterating what he called India’s “strong protest” and declaring, in a later social media...