Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in Washington this week for the first state visit since President Obama came into office. In a new video Q&A, Ashley J. Tellis explains the significance of the trip and outlines the status of U.S.-India relations.
The United States and India have “reached the point in the bilateral relationship where none of the big global issues can be resolved without a constructive partnership,” says Tellis. U.S. global priorities rely on India’s cooperation and the “United States will remain central to India’s strategic and economic calculations.”
- What is the significance of Prime Minister Singh’s trip to Washington?
- Will any major announcements accompany the visit?
- What is the status of U.S.-India relations?
- Will U.S.-India defense cooperation deepen in the coming years?
- What are possible sources of tension between Washington and Delhi?
- How important is India to Washington, and how does it fit into America's global priorities?
- How important is the United States for India's foreign policy?
What is the significance of Prime Minister Singh’s trip to Washington?
Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Washington will be the first visit that is hosted by the Obama administration—the first state visit. So, I think it is a very important symbol that the administration is trying to convey—not only to the people of India, but to the global community—that India remains an important and desirable partner of the United States.
You will also see that reflected in the substance of the visit. What you will find interesting is that the visit will convey the diversity of the partnership and the agreements that will be announced will reflect the extent to which both countries have come since they began to put their relationship back together again after 1998.
So, on balance I think you will see a great degree of diversity. I think you will see all the usual symbolism associated with state visits. And I think you will see a determination on the part of both the president and the prime minister to take this relationship forward.
Will any major announcements accompany the visit?
There will be a variety of announcements. Unlike the visit in 2005 where all attention was galvanized by civil-nuclear agreement, I think this time what is likely is that you find a set of announcements in a diverse range of areas, everything from the economy to education to climate change to defense.
That is a story in itself, because what it communicates is that the bilateral relationship now is not a single issue relationship. It’s moved way beyond where we were in 2005. There are a whole range of interactions that are taking place between both countries, at the official level, at the unofficial level, among peoples. I think you will see this visit illustrating both the variety and intensity of that relationship.
What is the status of U.S.-India relations?
The status of India-U.S. relations, at the moment, is that they are very good, but in many ways there is much more that can be done. Both sides are in the process of putting the building blocks for cooperation in place over the very long term, and putting these building blocks in two broad areas: areas that are important to India: agriculture and education, and areas that are important to the United States: climate change and disarmament. What you will see is the coming together of both U.S. and Indian interests and I think that’s a very good thing.
Will U.S.-India defense cooperation deepen in the coming years?
U.S.-India defense cooperation is not only going to deepen—that is inevitable—but it is going to broaden much more than we have seen historically.
There are three areas where I think you will see that happening. The first area is military-to-military cooperation. There is already a very robust pattern of engagement—I see that only increasing in time.
The second is defense trade. India has slowly started to look to the United States as a supplier of high-end defense equipment. So far, the deals have been modest, but there are very big deals that are on the anvil, which will be concluded within the next decade.
The third area is defense-industrial cooperation where, American industry is going to look to India to invest. It’s going to be a destination for investment. There is going to be a great deal of co-production and in some cases even co-development over the longer term.
I see the field as being extremely ripe for very, very deep defense cooperation between the two countries.
What are possible sources of tension between Washington and Delhi?
The biggest sources of tension—and I wouldn’t use the word tension but this is where our perceptions are not exactly aligned—are on some issues of high politics. And the two that I would flag illustratively is, first some dimensions of terrorism—where India if very concerned that terrorism emerging from Pakistan be accorded the same priority in U.S. interests as terrorism pertaining to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. This is one area where both sides need to work to a more fruitful understanding of what is possible.
The other area would be in climate change. The U.S. would very much like India to accept binding commitments with respect to limiting its own emissions. And India because it is a developing country is looking for the developed world to bear disproportionate burden in dealing with the challenges of climate change.
Those are two examples of where our interests, although aligned at the highest level of generalization, are still not particularly congruent when it comes to the specifics.
How important is India to Washington, and how does it fit into America's global priorities?
India will remain important to the United States, particularly when you take into account this administration’s priorities. The Obama administration is very focused on global issues—issues relating to nonproliferation, climate change, energy security, food security, nuclear security, you name it. All these big global issues are issues where India is intimately involved in either as an interlocutor or as a participant.
I’ve always said that we’ve reached the point in the bilateral relationship where none of these big global issues can be resolved without a constructive partnership with India. And I think the administration recognizes that. And so, I cannot see a situation in the future where India’s importance to the United States actually decreases because, on one hand, it is a growing economy, it is going to become more and more capable than it is today. On the other hand, all the issues that matter to the United States are issues where India can actually play a constructive role. So, I see in that sense, the opportunities for a fruitful partnership are actually very great.
How important is the United States for India's foreign policy?
The United States will remain central to India’s strategic and economic calculations. Let me say a few words about the strategic. New Delhi sees American primacy globally and American leadership in Asia as being very important to its own security. American leadership is what provides the assurance that the Asian century will not become a Chinese century. And that is a source of reassurance to India. So from the strategic point of view, India has a stake in America’s continued success.
On the economic point of view, the United States is India’s second largest trading partner today. It remains the most desired source of high technology and capital. As the Indian economy becomes more outward looking and looks to trade as a locomotive for its own growth, India is going to continue to look at the United States as the source of all good things, from the point of view of economic growth.
So whether ones thinks of the strategic or one thinks of the economic, the Unites States will continue to remain central to India’s calculations.
