PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United
States was the first such visit by a Head of
State/Government under the Obama administration. The hosts used this point in
the media to single out the visit as a special one. Likewise, the state banquet
given to the Indian Prime Minister, where over 300 guests were invited, was
also mentioned in the media in great details to underscore the care and the
attention that the hosts have taken to make the visit remarkable. The
President's choice of words to praise India
and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it obvious that he was also trying to
underscore the visit as more than an important one. He referred to the usual
pitch that marks such visits between the two countries; theirs being the two
largest democracies in the world. This time, the fact that both Obama and
Manmohan Singh have only recently assumed office (Manmohan Singh for a new
term) and would have a long time to implement agreements reached between the
two countries was added to the usual pitch to underscore the visit's
importance.
The official talks between the two leaders lasted
two hours. A Joint Statement was issued following the talks and the two leaders
also addressed a joint press conference. Obama acknowledged India
as a “rising and responsible global power” and welcomed it for “rise of a
stable, prosperous and rising Asia”. Obama said the US
considered its strategic partnership with India
“as one of the redefining partnerships of 21st century” and added that the
necessity to broaden and strengthen US-India cooperation would be a matter of
priority for his administration. Obama underscored India's
fantastic rate of economic development and stressed upon the need to strengthen
trade and investment in each other's country for mutual benefit. In the context
of the agreements reached at the Pittsburg G20 Summit, President Obama
underscored the need for India
to “have a greater voice in shaping the international financial structure.”
Obama also said at the press conference about an agreement to interact closely
on the issue of climate leading to the UN sponsored Copenhagen Summit next
month.
President Obama also said that the two countries
agreed to deepen cooperation on “transnational threats”. To prevent future
attacks like the one Mumbai witnessed a year ago, they agreed that “our law
enforcing and intelligence agencies will work closer, including sharing
information.” President Obama assured India
that the Civil Nuclear Agreement reached in October 2008 would be implemented
soon and welcomed India's
participation in the nuclear summit next year “in a shared vision of a world
without nuclear weapons.” President Obama also spoke of US-Indian cooperation
in education, disease control, and food security. Manmohan Singh expressed
satisfaction at the agreement of the two sides to strengthen their strategic
partnership and to cooperate closely on trade and investment relations. He
expressed pleasure at the assurance on implementing the Civil Nuclear
Agreement. He also echoed the sentiments of Obama on the agreement to work on
climate, economic issues, education and food security. The visit was also
significant because of the 8 MoUs signed on a wide range of areas highlighting
deeper cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.
The ambiance created around the visit by the
hosts was in contrast to the build up to the visit from the Indian side. The US
President's state visit to China
just days before Manmohan Singh's trip to Washington
did not make the Indians particularly happy. Former Indian Foreign Secretary
and Ambassador to Washington Lalit Mansingh said that although it is easy to
explain Obama's bow to the Emperor of Japan as a matter of protocol, his
bending over backwards to please the Chinese was nothing but “appeasement”. The
Indians are unhappy that the Obama administration has been paying too much
attention to China
and not enough to the Indians. The warmth of relations that was there under
President Bush who brought US-India relations out from the cold storage after
decades of antagonism during the Cold War was missing going into the visit. The
Indians were getting apprehensive because of the Obama administration's silence
to activate the Civil Nuclear Agreement. The US
had to use its influence with the 43 nations Nuclear Suppliers' Group to get
its clearance to sign the deal.
The task of making the visit successful thus lay
more on the lap of the US
than on the Indians. In fact, the US
had to walk the tight rope on this account. It had to keep Pakistan
happy by not giving too much to the Indians as the Obama administration has
already pinned that country as a strategic partner in the war against terror. China
is the emerging world giant set to overtake Japan
soon as the second strongest economy in the world and eventually beat the US
to the number one position. China
is also US's most important trading partner. These are just a few of the
imperatives that make relations with China
extremely important for the US.
In fact, Lalit Mansingh was correct when he said that Obama's overtures towards
China during his recent trip was “appeasement” because given China's ever
growing influence in world affairs, and US's dependence on China for economic
reasons, it is in US' national interest to keep China happy.
Thus, the US
cannot lean towards India
without considering the reactions of Pakistan
and China. By
reiterating commitment to work with India
on issues of climate; terrorism in South Asia; global
trading arrangements; the US
has assured the Indians about India's
importance to the US
as a strategic partner without upsetting Pakistan
and China. The
importance of US-India Strategic Dialogue established at the level of Secretary
of State/Minister of External Affairs as underscored by Obama has also made the
Indians happy. These facts notwithstanding, no agreement has been signed nor
any commitment made by the US
with India
which may upset either China
or Pakistan.
Nevertheless, the assurance given by the US
to implement the Civil Nuclear Agreement has been a major outcome of the visit.
A visibly relieved Indian Prime Minister said at the joint press conference
that it would take at most a couple of months before the deal is implemented.
In the context of big power international
politics, the visit will not give India
any new importance than what it already enjoys. In the context of regional
politics in South Asia, the visit has clearly
underscored that India
will be, to the United States,
the regional leader where Pakistan
would be the exception. Bangladesh may have less of the US attention on
regional matters such as those related to security and terrorism, sharing of
water of common rivers or on maritime boundary and US may be inclined to take
the Indian view on such matters to decide its policy.
The two big issues upon which the US
media reported extensively are the state banquet where the First Lady wore an
elegant dress designed by an Indian designer; the Indian cuisine served on the
occasion; and the galaxy of elites who were invited to it. The other big issue
is the gate crashing event of Tareq Salahi. Neither issue is of substance but
still they dominated media attention. This does not suggest that important
issues were not discussed. It nevertheless suggests that the issues discussed
did not make any breakthrough which might have taken US-India strategic
relations to the next level as was predicted by Assistant Secretary for South
Asia Robert Blake in his pre-visit assessment. Rather, the visit of Manmohan
Singh will maintain the current US
policy in Asia, that of not choosing a favorite among India,
Pakistan and China.
The author is a former Ambassador to Japan
and Director, Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies.
