US wants India as a Regional Power

Last updated on: June 10, 2006 at 2:23 pm by Desh Kapoor

US wants India as a Regional Power 2006-06-10T14:23:00-05:00 Desh Kapoor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

India and US have been moving ahead in their relationship fast and furious! Is it good for India or not is a good question. US is not very reputed when it comes to maintaining long term friends. Its friendships are more short term and strategic… unlike that with Soviets/Russians. The truth however is that at the end of it all – India will be better off by being the regional power in the Indian Ocean and Asia.

The United States is grooming India into a junior partner in a bid to make New Delhi break out of its shell and exert enough influence in the Indian Ocean region to at least annoy China and a recalcitrant Pakistan, a US think tank has suggested.

Such a strategic partnership would not only protect US interests in the region, but could also powerfully demonstrate to Islamabad that it would not stop a resurgent India from attacking Pakistan, intelligence think tank Stratfor said.

Though the self-styled “shadow CIA” itself considers such a scenario unlikely, it suggested that development of a strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi would also help take India out of Iran’s orbit.

Analysing the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Peter Pace’s recent visit to New Delhi, it suggested that as part of this developing strategic partnership he had given India the green signal to test its Agni III missile in August with the assurance that it would not affect the US-India nuclear deal.

Indian officials have dismissed the Stratfor suggestion that the US had given its nod for test firing the nuclear-capable Agni-III intercontinental ballistic missile, maintaining this was only the interpretation of the US think tank.

“India has made it amply clear that we have imposed a voluntary ban on testing and that is where the matter stands,” a defence ministry official said in New Delhi on Friday.

Apart from its suggestion about Agni, Stratfor considered the evolving relationship between India and US as a potentially deep one.

“The United States will provide India with nuclear technology, development capital, and military hardware and training; in return, India will help safeguard US interests in the Indian Ocean region.

“The partnership could also powerfully demonstrate to Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf that the United States would not act to block a resurgent India from attacking Pakistan (not that such a scenario is likely) and also help take New Delhi out of Iran’s orbit,” it said.

“A formal alliance it is not; India does not want to be seen as being anti-Moscow or anti-Beijing, even as it develops stronger ties with the United States.

“Geopolitically, China and India have been off of each other’s radar screens, as they are geographically sealed from each other by the natural wall of the Himalayas and jungle,” Stratfor said.

India wants to continue to buy arms from Russia, such as parts for the MiG-29Ks that will be flying off the deck of the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier, which is to be handed over after a Russian refit in 2008.

New Delhi wants the US to continue to train the pilots of those MiGs for carrier operations. The US has also agreed in principle to sell India an Austin-class Landing Platform Dock, the USS Trenton, significantly enhancing New Delhi’s maritime power-projection capabilities.

In return, Washington would like India to do exactly what it wants to anyway: shoulder responsibility and become a powerhouse in the Indian Ocean, second only to the US Navy, Stratfor said.

The United States hopes that an India more involved in the Malacca Strait and with an improved navy will make China nervous.

As Malacca is a chokepoint for Chinese trade and energy supplies, the naval frontier is essentially the only potential conflict point between New Delhi and Beijing, which otherwise are for all intents and purposes a continent away from one another.

Pace’s visit merely formalised what has already been occurring: a coming together of Indian and American interests in a confederation of convenience, the US think tank said.

link

Technorati : China, India, Pakistan, Stratfor, US, military
Del.icio.us : China, India, Pakistan, Stratfor, US, military
Ice Rocket : China, India, Pakistan, Stratfor, US, military
Flickr : China, India, Pakistan, Stratfor, US, military
Buzznet : China, India, Pakistan, Stratfor, US, military
43 Things : China, India, Pakistan, Stratfor, US, military

Previous Post

June 10, 2006

Net Neutrality Act Dinged

Next Post

June 10, 2006 Human History

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aarti Achievement and Leadership AfPak Africa Annual and Year-end Asia Audio Australia Behavioural Sciences Bhagwad Gita Bhagwad Gita Blogging Blogs Business Business Intelligence Business Strategy Cannes Careers Chanakya China Conservation Corruption Creative Daily Links Desh Poems Development & Welfare Devotional Audio Devotional Songs Drama Earth Economics Education Entertainment Environment Europe Everyday Quotes Featured Articles Featured Songs Finance Flickr Pictures Food Geo-Political Global Warming Globalization Health & Medicine Hinduism Historic History Humour India Indian Culture Indian music Indian Weddings Israel Issues Legal Link Love Minorities Misc Motivation and Personal Development Movie Lists Movie Reviews Movies Mumbai terror attacks Natural Disasters Nature News Outsourcing Pakistan Parenting Personal Philosophy Poetry Politics Poverty Quotes Recipe Regular Blog Post Relationships Religion Religious/Spiritual Audio Sciences Showcase Slideshow South Asia Special Stories Spiritual Quotes Spirituality Sports Stories Strategy Technology Technology Terrorism Travel Uncategorized US Video Women Women_s Rights Worship Yoga

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 September 2014 August 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Deborah's husband?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lapidoth Gideon Jephthah Barak