New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley urged Washington to view India as a "prized free and democratic partner" in countering China, warning that undoing 25 years of progress in ties with New Delhi would amount to a "strategic disaster." In an opinion piece for Newsweek, Nikki Haley said that the rise of India does not threaten the free world unline, "Communist-controlled China."

"India must be treated like the prized free and democratic partner that it is--not an adversary like China, which has thus far avoided sanctions for its Russian oil purchases, despite being one of Moscow's largest customers. If that disparity does not demand a closer look at U.S.-India relations, the realities of hard power should. Scut...