US Is Now Doing What India Has Practised Through Strategic Autonomy: Jaishankar

New York, September 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

The United States is now practising what India has long pursued through its policy of strategic autonomy by managing multiple relationships and interests simultaneously, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said.

Speaking at an event in New York on Monday, Jaishankar said Washington was currently engaging with China, Russia, Ukraine, other parts of Asia and Europe while balancing its various interests.

“Pretty much what people used to say about us, Washington is today practising with a great deal of gusto,” Jaishankar said during a conversation with Daniel Russel, former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Russel referred to the common US expression of “chewing gum and walking at the same time” while discussing India’s strategic autonomy and its ability to pursue different relationships simultaneously.

Picking up the metaphor, Jaishankar joked that “that piece of gum is in pretty big supply in Washington”, referring to the multiple relationships and, at times, competing interests the US is seeking to manage under President Donald Trump.

Jaishankar said Washington’s approach had broader implications because of the country’s global role.

“Once Washington takes the lead on that, it becomes, in a way, a kind of a global question. That’s the reality,” he said.

The External Affairs Minister recalled a period when India was expected to limit its strategic options and focus its relationship on the US, while Washington itself maintained a wider range of international engagements as a global power.

“Today the pretence has dropped for everybody. Everybody is openly dealing with everybody else,” he said.

According to Jaishankar, the shift reflects the movement towards a multipolar world in which countries seek to pursue their interests across multiple relationships rather than align exclusively with one power.

“Everybody is going to be chewing it,” he said, extending the metaphor, adding that countries would seek to secure the best possible outcomes from situations based on a sharper definition of their respective interests.