'India-China-US partnership can provide growth, security'
Former US deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott sees an “India-China-US triangle” emerging. He believes this would play a major role in the sectors of economic growth, trade, and security.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: Former US deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott sees an “India-China-US triangle” emerging. He believes this would play a major role in the sectors of economic growth, trade, and security.
“India and China have made considerable progress since former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee cited the Chinese threat as one of the reasons behind the Pokhran nuclear tests. In the context of contemporary world, hostility between India and China would not only work against the interests of the two countries but also against the US. The Indo-US nuclear co-operation treaty has already taken the Indo-US relations to a new level and I don’t see any reason why this relationship won’t get more strengthened. So there we have an India-China-US triangle emerging, a scenario which was almost unimaginable some years back,” Mr Talbott said speaking informally to journalists on the sidelines of a function in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Mr Talbott was enthused about the recent meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
“I am very happy about the fact that the process of dialogue has been revived by the two countries. It’s always good being on talking terms,” he said. Asked if the dialogue could really lead to realistic solutions to some of the long-standing problems when a common man in India is fast losing patience due to a spurt in terrorist attacks, Mr Talbott said dialogue was always a more statesmanly way of resolving disputes.
“Manmohan Singh has taken a statesman-like step and there has only been applause for that in the US. Mr Vajpayee had also explored this option. About losing patience, a statesman cannot afford to lose patience,” Mr Talbott maintained.
On the nuclear deal, Mr Talbott said successive US governments except the incumbent one had always resisted India’s attempt to be a member of the powerful nuclear club. “But things are different now and Indo-US relationship has got an altogether new perspective. I feel that the dialogue on the deal would lead to an even more creative interaction between the two countries on other aspects of the deal apart from the nuclear co-operation,” Mr Talbott said. Though he was upbeat about what he called the emerging “India-China-US triangle,”
Mr Talbott did not rule out the possibility of China opposing India’s prospects of getting support from the Nuclear Supplies Group (NSG). “I do see China as an impediment but not an insurmountable one. Progress on Indo-Chinese relationship would take care of this hurdle,” Mr Talbott added.
On the outsourcing issue, Mr Talbott was mildly critical of the concerns expressed by the US. “The studies that we have done at the Brookings institution on the economics of outsourcing have revealed that it’s beneficial to the US in multiple ways. But a key prerequisite to it is that India further open up its market to foreign investment,” he said.
Mr Talbott, who has authored a book “Engaging India” on his stint as deputy secretary of state, said he was “mystified” by the “mole” controversy triggered by former foreign minister Jaswant Singh in his book Call to Honour.
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