The US is now placing more focus on Asia and is marking its friends and foes carefully -- the nation China views as a competitor, and is seeking to build allies to contain the threat of China. In an unusual move, the Trump administration declassified a national security document about the Indo-Pacific region 20 years ahead of schedule.

The “US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific” talks about the challenges that the US faces in the Indo-Pacific region and builds a strategy to overcome them. It talks about the need to restrain the increasing Chinese influence in the region, contain North Korea and ways to promote a liberal trade order. It also places great importance to its relationship with India, and wants to build on it.

Why is this important and what lies ahead for the India-US relationship?