EAM Jaishankar says US to be more isolationist irrespective of who wins election

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that the US is likely to become more isolationist, irrespective of who becomes the country’s next president.

Speaking at an event in Canberra while Americans were still casting votes, EAM Jaishankar said the election was unlikely to reverse what he called a long-term trend in US policy.

EAM Jaishankar noted on Tuesday that India’s relationship with the US would only grow in the future.

“Probably starting from (President Barack) Obama, the US has become much more cautious about its global commitments,” he said, pointing to a US reluctance to deploy troops and its withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden.

“President Trump may be more articulate and expressive in that regard,” he added during a panel discussion with the foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand.

But he also said, “It’s important to look at the US more nationally than purely in terms of the ideology of the administration of the day.”

“If we are truly analyzing them, I think we have to prepare for a world where actually the kind of dominance and generosity which the US had in the early days may not continue.”

All three foreign ministers said their nations needed to step in to create the global environment they wanted.

“We all have an interest today in creating some kind of collaborative, consensual arrangement,” EAM Jaishankar added.

“There is more protectionism,” said New Zealand’s Winston Peters.

“The world we were once trying to build on is changing, and we’ll have to react and change with it.”

Speaking at a joint press conference on Tuesday with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Parliament House in Canberra, EAM Jaishankar also credited former US President Donald Trump with reviving the QUAD alliance in 2017, marking a significant development in Indo-Pacific cooperation.

“We have seen steady progress in our relationship with the US over the last five presidencies, including a previous Trump presidency,” EAM Jaishankar said on Tuesday in response to a question on how India-US ties may evolve after the elections.

“So, when we look at the American election, we are confident that, regardless of the outcome, our relationship with the US will continue to grow,” he added.