‘Strategic disaster’: Nikki Haley says dumping ‘prized’ India boosts China, wrecks US strategy

Nikki Haley warned against alienating India, calling it a “strategic disaster” to scuttle decades of diplomatic progress, and urged Donald Trump to treat New Delhi as a “prized free and democratic partner” in the fight to counter China.

In a sharply worded opinion piece published in Newsweek, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations argued that a strong U.S.-India partnership is essential—not optional. “Unlike Communist-controlled China, the rise of a democratic India does not threaten the free world,” Haley wrote, calling the alliance “a no-brainer.”

She directly criticized the current imbalance in U.S. foreign policy, pointing out that China has faced no sanctions for importing Russian oil, while India has faced penalties. “If that disparity does not demand a closer look at U.S.-India relations, the realities of hard power should,” she said.

Haley emphasized that undermining the U.S.-India relationship, which has seen 25 years of growing cooperation, would be a catastrophic misstep. “Scuttling 25 years of momentum with the only country that can serve as a counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia would be a strategic disaster.”

Positioning India as a linchpin in multiple global arenas, Haley highlighted its manufacturing potential, its centrality to supply chain diversification, and its strategic presence in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific. “India stands alone in its potential to manufacture at a China-like scale for products that can’t be quickly or efficiently produced here, like textiles, inexpensive phones, and solar panels.”

She also noted India’s rising global stature: “India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and will soon take over Japan,” Haley wrote, asserting that “China’s ambitions will have to shrink as India’s power grows.”