U.S.-India Relations Strained under Obama
NEW DELHI -- U.S.-India relations have experienced a period of strain under the presidency of Barack Obama, with India increasingly unhappy about how the new administration is shaping its policy in the South Asian region.
It is not just one or two matters that have raised concerns for New Delhi, but rather the gathering impression over the last few months that some of the closeness in relations enjoyed under the Bush administration, exemplified by the U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal, is dissipating under Obama.
Some observers say that under Bush, Washington was more concerned about propping up India as a counterweight to China in the region. The diversion of the "war on terror" from Afghanistan to Iraq, too, effectively sidelined Pakistan, despite it being a long-time U.S. partner.
With Obama, the focus is back on uprooting jihadi terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the administration's sizable five-year military and civilian aid package designed to help Islamabad play a central role in this fight has particularly irked India.
New Delhi has always been concerned that U.S.-supplied arms and money can easily be deployed against India. The Obama administration's insistence that any reference to India be removed from a legislative clause designed to ensure against Pakistani misuse of the aid package served as another indication of Washington's new leanings.
Other perceived slights include:
- The recent U.S. embassy's advisory warning to U.S. travelers about the threat of terrorism in the country. The alert was not appreciated in New Delhi, given India's ambition to emerge as a major tourist destination
- Under Secretary of State William Burns' comments on the disputed state of Kashmir, where state elections have been successfully held and widely recognized as free and fair. On a visit to India last week, Burns said that the "wishes" of the people of the state need to be considered to resolve the issues, implicitly endorsing Pakistani and separatist calls for a plebiscite.
- Washington's stated intention to pursue its policy of non-proliferation aggressively, including the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). India considers treaties such as the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and CTBT as biased in favor of nuclear-weapon possessing countries (Britain, France, China, Russia and the U.S.). India is willing to be on board, provided the "elite" nations also agree not to stockpile and test nuclear weapons. Bush circumvented the NPT and CTBT in order to push India's case as the "nuclear exception," resulting in its present access to international civilian atomic technology transfers.
- Obama's remarks last month, widely perceived as "anti-India," about the need to reform America's tax code. Obama rejected the current tax code "that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York." His tax proposals alarmed India's export-oriented software sector, which generates the bulk of its business from America. Meanwhile his stimulus plans for the U.S. economy make it increasingly difficult for U.S. companies to hire foreigners on temporary skilled worker permits and visas, often used by Indian software professionals to work on-site in America. Obama's policies are also making it harder for U.S. companies that send jobs overseas to enjoy tax benefits, with obvious effects on Indian outsourcing firms.
There is, however, one legacy of the Bush administration that looks set to continue: defense cooperation, underlining Washington's perceived willingness to pursue contacts that obviously benefit U.S. businesses.
In March, the Obama administration approved a $2 billion sale of eight Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, the biggest U.S. arms sale to India to date. The State Department said in a statement that it had cleared the direct commercial sale, having factored in "political, military, economic, human rights and arms control considerations."
Observers also believe that another Bush legacy that should endure is nuclear trade, despite grumblings about the NPT and CTBT. Since July 2005, when India and the U.S. signed the landmark "1-2-3 Agreement," the removal of the 35-year international embargo on nuclear trade with India has been a slow and arduous path.
India is now looking to import at least eight new nuclear reactors by 2012. Between five and seven sites for sizable nuclear power plants are being blueprinted for nuclear capacity additions by 2020. American businesses have estimated the potential foreign direct investment at more than $100 billion in India's nuclear power sector over the next decade, with several U.S. firms in the running to win contracts.
The strategic depth of U.S.-India relations, though, is set to be different under Obama, whose focus on battling terrorist networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan will make the U.S. a more difficult partner for India than it was under Bush.
WPR Article | U.S.-India Relations Strained under Obama
