there is lot of merit in this case. Benefits are also apparent.
We need to have an open debate on this, my personal opinion would be to go for it. We shall benefit from the transfer of technology and also gain economically by hosting the US Naval ships in our ports.
I don't think Indian media is capable enough to handle open discussion on this.
The only thing that should worry intelligent Indians and real think tanks is how much Nehruvian viruses are still left in their thinking.
Trouble with India's strategic thinking for last 20 years was that we were pretending to be non-align but looking everywhere for assistance and support on different Geo-political and strategic issues and issues related to our security. Many of us saw it as clever tactical manoeuvrings of remaining independent and pick whatever suited us at our convenience.
In a nutshell we were going nowhere because people (nations) were able to see this through thus remained disinclined friends. To support this argument further the evidence is that our threat perception has increased manifold with more frontiers have become active and it not something which is artificial or due to larger conspiracy of nation in focus, but something our strategic and security experts predicted ages ago by highlighting our intrinsic inefficiencies.
To expand it further, with such sacrosanct approach, what was happening back home was the non-align approach of political leadership backed by cocktail of Marxist and Nehruvian morns, the political leadership had good excuse and did nothing. We were so Nehruvian inside-out that we remained sadistic for even developing world class MIC.
The fallacy of fears that we were served about USA was like accusing a medicine of side effect when we haven't yet ingested it.
With a strong leadership who is not compromised like previous government and yet not disillusioned or functionally ambiguous for no good reasons about friendships; which ironically we have earned by buying weapons; I see no harm in being bold and confident of handling such military alliances.
If someone still wants to exaggerate this news with adjectives like sitting in the laps of USA etc., then let's treat it like Nehru's moment of becoming friend with USSR and now Modi's moment of becoming friend with USA. If there was dire need of such alliance, in the background of Cold war, with Russia then today things are far more conducive in a multi-polar world, not to mention Russia is sole provider of advance military technology to China.
I remember congress-I leader Manish Tiwari on a NDTV circus criticizing AVB for testing Nuclear weapons as being an ambiguous nuclear weapon state, Pakistan would have not challenge the nuclear parity like they did after following the suit, testing their own weapons. He was representing the school of thought of Sonia Gandhi lead congress-I. The fool didn't know that test was mandatory to validate our new warhead designs we require to advance our long range ballistic missile program and yield. Also we were not ambiguous nuclear state as we had already tested our nuke ages ago.
My problem was not his understanding of the subject but his defensive and do-nothing approach. The same approach has inflicted our psychology into a nation who underestimates itself.
The contrast was visible; the same party who took a decision of conducting nuclear tests and gave this nation a working nuclear doctrine not 'In-absentia' nuclear philosophy, is now in power again and one must put some weight behind their decision making.
In Punjabi we say ''je unthan naal yaari lani aa tan darwaje uchey chukne pain ge''. If your want to be friend with camels then have your Home doors wide and tall open.
On the side note : Anyone giving examples of Pakistan's miseries being friend with USA; is a nitpicker at best and very bad reader of contexts which pushed USA to go against Pakistan; if it is the case. India is not Pakistan.