Amid strained India-US ties over trade and punitive tariffs US President Donald Trump has signed an annual defence policy Bill into law, laying down an expanded engagement with India in 2026, including through the Quad, to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific and address the challenges posed by China.

Called the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for US FY2026 (starting January 1), it includes a spending of $900 billion on defence and security over the next fiscal.

The NDAA mentions the need to maintain a ‘free open Indo-Pacific region’ through bilateral and multilateral engagements and participation in military exercises, expanded defence trade and collaboration on humanitarian aid and disaster response.

The passing of the NDAA comes just two weeks after the US ‘national security strategy’ released by the White House mentioned the need to ‘improve commercial and other relations with New Delhi’. It had also mentioned a strategic role of India and Japan in the US calculus for maintaining equilibrium vis-a-vis China in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Besides, the NDAA authorises fiscal year appropriations for the Department of War (DoW), the Department of Energy national security programmes, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Intelligence Community and other executive departments and agencies.

The Act outlines ‘sense of Congress on Defence Alliances and Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region’. Under this, the Secretary of Defence should continue efforts that strengthen US defence alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region to “further the comparative advantage of the US in strategic competition with China”.

The NDAA says it should include “broadening US engagement with India, including through the Quad”. India, the US, Japan and Australia are part of Quad, which is aimed to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.

This, it said, would strengthen the collective defence industrial base by expanding capability, capacity and workforce, including enhanced supply chain security, interoperability and resilience among participating countries.

A section titled ‘Joint Assessment between US and India on Nuclear Liability Rules’ further states that Secretary of State Marco Rubio shall establish and maintain within the US-India Strategic Security Dialogue a joint consultative mechanism with the Indian government.

This mechanism would convene regularly to “assess the implementation of the agreement for cooperation between the US and India concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy, signed in Washington in 2008,” it said.

It also calls on Rubio to submit a report describing the joint assessment about this not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, and annually thereafter for five years.

Calls BRICS adversary

The NDAA also mentions how adversaries of the US were cooperating multilaterally in international institutions such as the UN and through expanded multilateral groupings such as the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa group (BRICS) to isolate and erode the influence of the US.