BEIJING – The United States puts pressure on Pakistan on behest of India onanti-terrorism issues, said Wang Se of Institute of ContemporaryInternational Relationsin an article published in the Global Times onTuesday.
According to Wang, on anti-terrorism issues, India will continue to askthe US to create pressure on Pakistan.
Actually, the US has responded to India’s request by cancelling somesecurity-related aid to Pakistan and adding three Pakistanis withLashkar-e-Taiba ties to its terror watch list.
But India believes these measures are not enough to ease the chaoticsituation in India-controlled Kashmir. But the US has not extricated itselffrom its dependence on Pakistan in the Afghan issue, so how far it cancater to India’s request is worth pondering.
Foreign and defense chiefs of the US and India will meet on Thursday tohold their first ever 2+2 dialogue. The mechanism was agreed upon by USPresident Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over thephone in August last year, but will only materialize after being cancelledtwice for various reasons in April and July.
Since the US brought the Indo-Pacific strategy into the spotlight, it hasbeen wooing India, hoping New Delhi can become an important pillar to dealwith challenges from China.
In its latest National Security Strategy report and National DefenseStrategy report, the White House listed India as its important strategicand defense partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
India is very alarmed by China’s projection of power in its perceived”sphere” of influence via the Belt and Road initiative. New Delhi has beenaccusing Beijing of strengthening its rein on Sri Lanka andthe Maldives through its “debt trap” diplomacy. Therefore, India andthe US have converging interests in counterbalancing China’s regionalinfluence.
Nonetheless, India does not want to provoke China on some sensitive issues,especially those which do not touch on India’s core interests. In2017, India rejected Australia’s request to join the Malabar navalexercises. It also ruled out participating in joint patrols in the SouthChina Sea proposed by the US.
But the two may contain China’s influence by cooperating economically in athird country. Alice Wells, the principal deputy assistant secretary forSouth and Central Asia of the US State Department, said the US is willingto work with New Delhi on projects outside India and both had partnered inthird countries. – Agencies