What would the interest be in India? I don't think it figures much in the American consciousness, contrary to Iran or Cuba.

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pjc50 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I think this is being overstated by Indians who would like to think that India is more important to the US than it is; other than H1B discourse, I think the US has largely forgotten India exists.

Invading nuclear-armed India (from where?? Pakistan?) would be a completely insane thing even by Trump standards. It's a plan that disintegrates on contact with a map.

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srean 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Not necessarily with invasion to start with. First would be destabilisation. It's neighbors are not doing too well lately. Many of them imploded within a short time span.

India can do what to the US with its nuke ? It's a deterrent for China.

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bigyabai 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> India can do what to the US with its nuke ?

The same thing that France or Russia could do with their ballistic missile submarines. Just because the ICBMs won't reach the US doesn't mean that the ALCM and SLBMs are harmless.

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srean 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Indian submarines are in general quite noisy.

They bought a few that are more silent, but their acoustic signature got acquired through intelligence/bribery operations. Quite an irreparable loss that the Indian population is not as acutely aware of.

One asset that India can threaten is Diego Garcia.

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bigyabai 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> One asset that India can threaten is Diego Garcia.

Case in point. I wouldn't expect a submarine to occupy the littorals of San Francisco, but an attack on Florida, Hawaii, or a distant base would be difficult to defend against.

Of course, such an attack is basically suicide, but still a possibility. Defensive systems like AEGIS are stretched too thin to deter a coastal attack.

	▲	srean 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You think so ? That is interesting. I am no expert though. I expect Indian subs to be kept good track of. Threatening Florida seems a stretch. Assets in around Indian Ocean are a distinct possibility. In fact India does not need subs for that.

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srean 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Ensuring unchallenged access to the Indian Ocean is a big deal and access to Indian market under US favorable terms and conditions.