May 1, 2011
WHY NOT NAME W?:
India, US: Estranged Democracies? (KANTI BAJPAI, Apr 30, 2011, Times of India)
There are many reasons India and the US should be close. Both worry about terrorism and Islamic extremism. Both have a stake in a stable Pakistan. The future of Afghanistan also is a vital concern. The safety of the high seas against piracy, particularly off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean, is a shared worry. The rise of China is unstoppable, but its behaviour internationally produces anxieties in New Delhi and Washington. India and the US have a growing economic relationship, one that is more consequential for India but increasingly so for the US as well.The stability of the world economy is part of the conversation that the two countries are having bilaterally and multilaterally. Other global issues that demand their attention include nuclear proliferation, climate change, disaster management, epidemics and other medical threats, and the future of Africa and West Asia. There are a range of bilateral issues too that bind them - Indian immigrants in the US, Indian access to US higher education, work visas for Indians and Americans, development cooperation, and technology transfers and co-development, amongst others.
On these and other issues, India and the US have forged a dialogue bilaterally and in larger gatherings. As a result, India-US relations have a density and balance that is historically unprecedented. Yet, the signs going forward are not at all good.
In the past several months a number of developments have complicated the relationship, not the least of which is the resignation of ambassador Timothy Roemer, within hours of New Delhi's decision not to shortlist the US F-16 and F-18A aircraft in the Multi-Combat Role Aircraft (MCRA) selection process. Indeed, the consequences of the MCRA decision are going to be felt for years - and not positively. That the ambassador resigned so precipitately is surely no accident and is extraordinarily ill-timed for the general health of the relationship. To appreciate this, consider that there are only 18 months before the US presidential campaign enters its final phase in 2012. There is a good chance, therefore, that India will not have a US ambassador in town until 2013 and, if it does, he or she will be a lame duck. To compound matters, India's ambassador, Meera Shankar, is near the end of her term.
A series of developments have clouded the relationship. The US's sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan, the tardiness with which Washington reacted to India's desire to access David Headley (the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks), continuing differences over Afghanistan, the US's tagging of Indian university students, worries amongst Indians about US H-1 visas, the humiliating 'pat down' of Indian ambassadors Meera Shankar and Hardeep Puri at US airports, New Delhi's handling of the nuclear liability issue, its decision to abstain on the Libya vote and its subsequent criticism of the western use of force in that country, US perceptions of the recent BRICS summit in China, and the WikiLeaks - all these have buffeted India-US relations.
There was never much chance of the UR understanding the alliance, but he can call on his predecessor who forged it.
Posted by oj at May 1, 2011 6:52 AM
Tweet