Finally, and at last an invitation did come from the Trump administration to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi for a visit to the US on June 25 and 26. It took six months for the US to send in this invitation to what’s broadly seen as a close ally! Notable also is the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping had been extended a red carpet reception by the US administration at the President’s Florida resort in April – just two months after Trump’s swearing in as the new American head of state.
This goes to show that despite the much talked about deep differences between China and the US, China takes unambiguous precedence over India in the US’ pecking order. What is undeniable is that China enjoys a much larger stature than India in the global scheme of things both by virtue of its high economic clout and military muscle.
All the same, here comes another opportunity for India to have a direct interaction at the highest level with the new administration which is charting fresh courses in many respects. Hope is that the Prime Minister would use this opportunity to clear the air vis-a-vis contentious issues between the two nations on bilateral, regional and global matters. Modi demonstrated unnecessary closeness with Obama, to the extent of addressing him by the first name. That obviously did not go down well with American protocol. The result was that the last part of the Obama administration displayed anti India postures. Although India’s Prime Minister took up vigorous and numerous foreign jaunts, the resultant diplomatic benefits have completely eluded India. Many external affairs observers in New Delhi consider Modi to be uneducated in matters concerning diplomatic affairs. It is rumoured that the Prime Minister lacks protocol related etiquette and manners which change in every country and culture. Ignorance in these delicate matters have damaged India’s image in the last three years.
India has taken a strong view in favour of the Paris Climate accord within hours of President Trump seeking to scrap the Deal which his predecessor, Barack Obama, had painstakingly built to considerable “perfection” and acceptability across the globe. Modi has openly stood by the accord in what amounted to a snub to the US and President Trump. This sort of small irritants apart, the India-US ties are supposed to be showing signs of improvement in the past quarter of a century, starting with the Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh era.
Significantly, PM Modi had visited the US repeatedly during the Obama period and interacted with the former president on several occasions on global and regional fora as well. All these had not helped much by way of Obama using his clout to rein in the terror outfits operating from the Pakistani soil with open support from the ISI or on assisting India in the UN Security Council seat or Nuclear Suppliers’ Group membership issue. America’s relations with Pakistan continue to remain strong until the new President took charge. His visa curbs on Islamic nations and warning to Pakistan against leniency to some terror outfits might have led to the arrest of some top leaders of JuD and LeT. India would need to push matters with the US in the matter of Pakistani support to these outfits. The Modi government has not, so far, been persuasive and successful with the US administration in respect of taking a pragmatic stand on issues relating to Pakistan. Trump’s action against Pakistan came rather in the overall context of his offensives against the scourge of terror and definitely not in any way intending to support India.
China is virtually encircling India through multiple ways including militarily. Partly, this has to do with its keenness to do regional policing and partly to India’s new policy of promoting relations with the US. India is now at a major disadvantage primarily because of the fudging of diplomacy by the BJP government. It got itself on the wrong side of China, whereas, on the other side, relations with the US have not improved significantly. Nothing goes to show that there’s a likelihood of any substantial advantage from further promoting India’s ties with the US, even as this is a necessity for India to keep trying.
China’s hegemonistic ambitions vis-a-vis India cannot be expected to be controlled by means of using US friendliness. That scenario is worsening with China emerging as Pakistan’s close associate, while it is also building bridges with not just Sri Lanka but also with India’s traditional allies like Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan are clear indications of Modi failing in foreign relations.
Standing alone, it would be difficult for India to face the present scenario. A better understanding with the US is perhaps a calling of the times, since India has lost all goodwill with every neighbor. It’s time the Indian government plays its cards not only decisively but also safely. The PM’s visit to the US will be watched with keen interest as regards its outcomes.