If you’re going to write 750 scathing words complaining about the close relationship between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump, you might want to make a passing reference to China. China poses a huge threat to U.S.-Indian interests and the need to confront that threat is a fundamental and formative element in the ever-closer relationship between the United States and India.

I note this in light of Sarah Philips’ screed for CNN on Saturday. Leading with the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston, Philips derides Modi and Trump as “two sides of the same coin.” As she sees it, this is a coin defined by authoritarianism, repression, and injustice. Philips suggests that we would be far better off if the American president turned his back on Modi. “It’s shameful,” she says, “to see [Modi] being enthusiastically welcomed.”