Obama’s C-word
At his joint press appearance with US President Barack Obama at the capital’s Hyderabad House on Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he is not afraid of the K-word. But it is the C-word that has animated international reportage on the Obama visit to India. The C-word is about China and the prospect of its “containment” by the United States.
In the last two years, Dr Singh and Obama have developed enough understanding to skirt around the political minefield of Jammu and Kashmir. Contrary to the fears in Delhi and hopes in Islamabad, Obama had no incentive to wreck his India trip by pushing Dr Singh on Kashmir and Indo-Pak relations. One reason for the dominance of the China theme is that Obama’s trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan is being seen as an American effort to strengthen ties with the four Asian democracies. That he is not going to Beijing during this trip has added to the perception that containing a newly assertive China is very much on top of Obama’s mind.Another reason is Obama’s decision to lend support to India’s permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and facilitate India’s integration into the global nuclear order. On both these fronts, China’s remains ambivalent. Obama’s call for a larger Indian role in Asia and his emphasis on cooperation with India in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Rim have all given an edge to the view that Delhi and Washington might be ganging up against Beijing.
(source:indianexpress.com)
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