Considering that India and China have had border skirmishes, and China is the 800 pound gorilla in the neighborhood and want's to be the 1200 pound and ONLY gorilla on the block, it behooves us to improve and maintain good relations with the Indians. Like it or not the PRC is on the horizon for both countries.
The PRC lost major face and was shown to be almost internationally impotent in the tsunami disaster . The US was able to put task forces on scene in a few days, provide hospital facilities, helos, engineering equipment, etc, . The PRC a small amount of money and that was it. So not only do they know they have a major military obstacle in the USN, they have minimal political influence.
So who would we rather have floating around with a task force or two in the area? India or China? yep, the Indians.