America
Obama-Modi vision document: Shedding of India's strategic inhibitions?
New Delhi, Jan 29
The visit of US President
Barack Obama to India not only resulted in both countries overcoming
their six-year deadlock over the civil nuclear deal but also the
emergence of a "strategic vision" document for closer cooperation in the
Asia Pacific and India Ocean region in the backdrop of what is seen as
an aggressively rising China, agreements that many feel may have
resulted in India finally shedding its strategic inhibitions.
Lalit
Mansingh, former foreign secretary and ambassador to the US, said the
envisaged India-US cooperation in the Asia Pacific region signifies "a
greater convergence between Mr. Modi’s Act East and Obama’s rebalance in
Asiaâ€. He said that both leaders were reported to have “discussed China
extensively and the threat that China poses to both the countries".
“So
the Act East and the rebalance in Asia will bring the two countries
closer together and we are going to see much more of military exercises
and more dialogue with countries like Japan, Australia and other
countries in the region. Also we are seeing a greater convergence
between America and Indian positions,†he said.
Hardeep Singh
Puri, India’s former envoy to the UN who has joined the ruling BJP, said
while he does “not read any attempt at containment†of China in the
vision document, but what it and other outcomes from the Obama visit
clearly signify that "India has shed its inhibitions" and wants to have
qualitatively higher relations with the US.
"Even as it does so, it is following a multi-aligned approach. India will seek similar upgradation with China,†Puri told IANS.
“However,
by virtue of the fact that US and India are the world’s two largest
democracies and by virtue of the fact that there is an attempt at
convergence in their positions, US-India relations will become more
important; experience has also shown that when we have better relations
with the US, our task of improving relations with China is also
facilitated,†he added.
Rakesh Sood, former diplomat and formerly
the prime minister’s special envoy for disarmament and
non-proliferation, also said the vision document only spelt out “greater
cooperation between the two countries in the Asia Pacific region†and
not containment of China. However, he said, that judging from the
Chinese reaction to Obama’s visit “they do not seem to be very happyâ€.
According
to Mansingh, while the vision document does not mention China, but the
very fact that it speaks of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring
freedom of navigation and overflight, especially in the South China Sea
region, indirectly refers to China.
Former foreign secretary
Kanwal Sibal said "relatively speaking it would be rebalancing the power
equation between China and the US, and they wanted to use India's
weight, and India is using this publicly now".
He feels that with
China "not having changed their core policies towards India", India is
"sending a message to China that you play games with us in the Indian
Ocean in our neighbourhood, then we will strengthen our hands vis-a-vis
you by coming closer to the US more visibly".
Regarding the
breakthrough agreement on the civil nuclear issue, Puri said it was
arrived at “without need to revisit our domestic legislation. We have a
categorical assurance from the prime minister on that. The contact group
comprised members of a large number of government of India ministries.
To suggest that senior officials would dilute our position in this
respect is not tenableâ€.
“My assessment is that the prospects for
commercial contracting to take place now are far better. In overall
terms, I am cautiously optimistic,†Puri said.
Sibal feels the "breakthrough" in the nuclear talks is a signal that "at the government level they have had an understanding".
"The
important thing is that we have shifted the whole argument away from
government level to the commercial plane; so we have removed the
strategic misunderstandings over this question successfully," Sibal told
IANS.
According to Sibal, the understanding reached on the issue
of the US wanting to track in perpetuity the fuel and equipment in its
reactors, is significant. "This was much more difficult because it
involved non-proliferation issues, though the detailed understanding is
not clear."
Mansingh said though the two have resolved a problem
that had a nuclear deal stuck for nearly six years, the inking of a
commercial deal is not likely to come soon.
“We have to see
whether the private companies like Westinghouse and GE will be able to
find a solution to their problems; they have responded very cautiously
saying they would like to see the fine print before they make any more
comments,†Mansingh told IANS.
Sood said: “The breakthrough has to be welcomed, and the details of which will naturally come out in due course because othe