India, US ramp up strategic ties with eye on China and heat on Pakistan

WASHINGTON: China was invisible and unmentioned dragon in the room and Pakistan the named and shamed entity as India and the United States strengthened their defence, security, and economic cooperation after talks between high cabinet officials ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi's meeting with president Obama in New York next week.

Washington also nudged New Delhi to make commitments on climate change ahead of a December summit in Paris, pledging to help India in attaining energy security with clean energy, including ambitious targets in renewables.



''A climate change agreement is absolutely critical and reflects the responsibility of world leaders to show the way on problems that profoundly affect not just our countries but all of the citizens of this planet,'' secretary of state John Kerry said, in a transparent show of Washington's No. 1 priority ahead of the Obama-Modi meeting.

India, which sees this as a ''transactional issue'' that should be part of an overall strategic and security paradigm, agreed to ''maintain close consultation in the run-up to the Paris summit'', with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj recognizing climate change as one of the most pressing challenges.

Beyond this one contentious issue, both sides were on the same page, particularly where security strategy was concerned. Both secretary Kerry and minister Swaraj insisted that China was not even mentioned during their talks, and their vigorous partnership was not aimed at Beijing. But the lengthy joint statement issued at the end of the dialogue was replete with engagements that is certain to pique China.

They include steps ranging from an enhanced trilateral ministerial dialogue between US, Japan, and India on the sidelines of the UN general assembly next month, to building on the first India-US consultations on Africa in April 2015 by having New Delhi train peacekeeping forces in six African countries, to reiterated US commitments to support India's interests in East Asia, and to its membership of the UN security council and various multilateral forums.

Still, secretary Kerry maintained that ''this meeting has nothing to do with China'' and ''there's no message to China here intended,'' before conceding that ''you could argue that because we are in common accord with respect to the South China Sea and rule of law, that that is a message to China.''

''Any fear or apprehension that this dialogue was aimed towards China ... that is mistaken,'' Swaraj protested to a questioner who raised the China angle, pointing out that the United States has the same dialogue mechanism with China too.

Both sides were less leery about naming and shaming Pakistan, conspicuously issuing a joint declaration on combating terrorism separate from the joint statement relating to the strategic and commercial dialogue.

Coming ahead of Pakistan's bluster about presenting ''evidence'' about India's involvement in unrest in the country at the UN and Nawaz Sharif's visit to Washington later this year, the declaration went over well-worn reiteration of anti-terrorism cooperation. One striking passage referred to the ''inclusion of Mumbai in the Strong Cities Network, a forum to build subnational resiliency against violent extremism.''

''We have recognized the threat posed by Lashkar-e-Taiba and other groups operating from safe havens in our region, and the need for Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks,'' Swaraj said bluntly, with Kerry, author of programs that has funneled billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, standing beside her. ''We have agreed to step up our cooperation in fighting the menace of terrorism.''