Finding reasons for inaction will reduce India's relevance for Washington and Beijing

As the United States seeks reconciliation with China in the second term of the Obama administration, New Delhi must end its current policy paralysis, dressed up as non-alignment between the world's two most important powers. China's warm reception to US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing over the weekend and the new emphasis on jointly addressing the current crisis in the Korean peninsula could help reduce some of the recent tensions in the Sino-US relationship.

On the face of it, President Barack Obama's "pivot to Asia", unveiled two years ago, raised the geopolitical significance of India in the construction of a new Asian balance of power. If Washington underlined the importance of India in its strategy of rebalancing to Asia, Beijing signalled greater interest in strengthening ties with Delhi amidst fears that the US planned to contain China. What seemed a rare strategic opportunity for India, however, froze the UPA government into an awful immobility. Delhi slowed its engagement with the US and remained too timid to widen cooperation with Beijing.

"Beijing will not like it" has become the standard excuse in Delhi for not pursuing India's interests with the US and other Asian neighbours like Japan and Vietnam. Delhi, of course, finds many more reasons for not moving forward with China. Delhi's "do-nothing" drift is probably the worst of all options India has in coping with the current dynamism in the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

If the professional worriers in South Block have been concerned in the last two years about the impact of Sino-US rivalry on India's freedom of action, they also lose sleep over the prospect of political collaboration between Washington and Beijing in Asia. Recall that in the first year of the Obama administration, Delhi went into a tizzy over the prospects of a G-2 that many in the US were advocating. Kerry's just concluded visit to Beijing is bound to raise those concerns again.

... contd.

ALSO READ Degrees of irresponsibility

Please read our terms of use before posting comments