China cloud hovers over PM’s US visit

Indian and American officials were in overdrive on Friday to put the sparkle back into prime minister Manmohan Singh’s Washington visit after United States president Barack Obama queered the pitch by acquiescing to a role for China in South Asia.

Indian hopes are focused on getting the US to agree to a formulation that will shut the door firmly on Beijing’s bid to play policeman in the region or intervene as an interlocutor in disputes with Pakistan, particularly Kashmir. Frantic last-minute negotiations on this are holding up finalisation of the joint statement to be issued at the end of the PM’s visit.
According to a senior government leader who did not wish to be named, the PM has been sounding out some of his colleagues on the political and diplomatic implications of the China-US joint statement. The issue was also discussed at Thursday’s meeting of the cabinet committee on security affairs, which usually clears agreements and the agenda for a major foreign visit by the PM.

One sentence in particular in the China-US joint statement has rankled as it calls for the US and China to “work together to promote peace, stability and development in that (South Asia) region”. The bracketing of India and Pakistan in a China-US joint statement after a gap of 11 years set off alarm bells in the strategic and diplomatic establishment.

The government reacted sharply with a warning against third party intervention in Indo-Pak affairs. Senior ministers are believed to have stressed that the “hands off” warning should find adequate reflection in the joint statement that will be put out by the PM and Obama in Washington next week. The consensus in the government is that the PM need not press the point with Obama in their talks if the statement makes satisfactory amends for the Beijing faux pas.

But the US-China tango in Beijing earlier this week has spoilt the party for Singh. The government had hoped for a glittering showpiece visit that picked up on the gains of the Bush era. Instead, on the eve of the PM’s departure, his aides were trying to play down the visit and said there were no big-ticket items on the menu. Nor are any agreements expected to be signed, just a few memorandums of understanding.

“The signals from Obama’s China visit have certainly spoilt the lunch,” acknowledged former Indian ambassador to Washington, Lalit Mansingh. “Obviously Obama’s world view is different from Bush’s and we have to be on our guard. At the same time, words in a joint statement need not amount to much. We have to see what action follows from the statement.”

Former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra felt that the PM should speak bluntly to Obama and emphasise the policy of “no third party intervention”. He said it would be a mistake to take lightly the changing equations between China and the US as they have a direct bearing on our national security.