US, South Asia and China
The end of the Cold War has brought about a flourishing relationship between the US and the billion and a half people of South Asia, albeit on a pro-rata basis with India as the priority. People in this region value human rights, oppose terrorism, and want to protect their increasingly endangered environment. Free markets in South Asia are relatively new, but economic reform has strong intellectual support, and a growing middle class is committed to opening the economies of the region. A little over a decade ago South Asia was regarded by the United States as a third-class backwater, today it stands on the brink of becoming a major economic and military power. The dependance of many multinational firms a the service sector has made India (and increasingly other regional countries) a permanent priority to American policy makers.
Geo-Political Maturity
Taking on China along the McMohan Line in late 1962 (“PM Jawarharlal Nehru orders Jawans to throw the Chinese out”, screamed newspaper headlines), India was itself evicted from North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) in the East and Aksai Chin as well as adjoining areas in the West. Chinese stopped in the foothills (in fact at a place called Foothills) of the Himalayas, unilaterally declaring a cease-fire. Some Indian troops even crossed the border into (then) East Pakistan (mainly Sylhet) to escape the Chinese. Two Indian Infantry Corps ceased to exist as entities. The US rushed in help to equip 3-4 mountain divisions, willingly complying with the wish-list for arms and equipment, balking only at the Indian request for submarines. These could hardly be used in the Himalayas.