Why Narendra Modi’s win is great news for America – Washington Examiner

Narendra Modi’s landslide reelection is good news for America. It means that India will continue its slow but significant movement towards economic modernity and will support the evolving architecture of U.S. global order.

While the final results aren’t yet in, it’s clear that Modi has won big. The prime minister’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to secure a majority of around 300 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha Parliament, beating out its closest rival, the Indian National Congress, by a ratio of 6 to 1. That will enable Modi to advance his reforms over the resistance of the INC-led progressive alliance and consolidate India’s footprint as a major global power.

Modi’s reforms have stagnated recently, so we can hope that this new mandate will give him new energy to push through the vested interests and turn India into a dynamic free-market economy.

That economy, in and of itself is in America’s interest. After all, with a young, increasingly wealthy population, India offers a major new market for higher-value U.S. exporters. Firms like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and medical companies will be beneficiaries here, as will the U.S. economy at large. In the interest of consolidating India’s trust in a U.S. economic alliance, President Trump should push for a near-term trade deal. That will give Modi the means of a new job surge in export markets. But it will also set the groundwork for U.S. exports in the decades ahead. Free trade can benefit us all.

Modi’s victory is also important for U.S. security. The world’s most populous democracy, India can become the keystone partner to U.S.-led international order in the 21st century. The challenge of China looms large here.

Fortunately, thanks to Xi Jinping’s immeasurable penchant for ill-advised arrogance, India is recognizing that China is no friend. And in recent months, Modi has escalated India’s naval capability and his support for the U.S. military. This offers a geostrategic linchpin against China’s domination of the Indian Ocean and gateway to the Arabian and Mediterranean seas. If that sounds like a very ambitious Chinese aspiration, it is. But remember, the Chinese think in terms of decades and generations, not two- or four-year election cycles. To beat them, we need a long-term partner.

Modi is helping shape that partnership. In the prime minister, we have a pro-American partner who shares our values and our concerns. We should double down on India with haste.