Round The World

New Delhi, 9 May 2012

Indo-US Ties

IRAN MUDDIES WATERS

By Monish Tourangbam

Research Scholar, School of International Studies (JNU)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent stopover in India after attending the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing was spadework for the upcoming India-US Strategic Dialogue to be held next month in Washington D.C. An opportunity to inspect the nuts and bolts of ties being sold as ‘one of the defining partnerships of the 21^st century’. 

Secretary Clinton true to style used public relations to her advantage, reaching out to a cross section of society at a town hall style inter-active session in Kolkata, besides her political meetings that included one with fiery Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

True, Indo-US relations are on an upswing, reaching a stage of maturity wherein both countries are comfortable enough to air their differences over contentious issues like Iran which seemed to occupy the centre-stage during her visit. Other recurring issues of importance were terrorism, Pakistan, Afghan war, civilian nuclear cooperation and economic matters like outsourcing and protectionism.

Importantly, differences over Iran is one area where the two countries would have to walk a tightrope. Despite comforting each other that both were on the same page vis-à-vis their policies towards Iran, what stood out was that the foreign policy goals and the means to achieve them are definitely divergent.

From New Delhi’s eyes, given India’s increasing need for energy and it’s geo-strategic and economic interests in the Persian Gulf, it is imperative to maintain ties with Iran. At the same time, one can hardly ignore the mounting US pressure to cooperate and join in increasing sanctions against an Iranian Government long suspected of harboring nuclear weapon ambitions.

New Delhi concurs with Washington in opposing Tehran’s nuclear weapon ambition but differs on the means adopted to stop them. As Secretary Clinton underscored, Washington believes that Iran came to the negotiating table because of “unrelenting pressure of international sanctions” which “must stay on” to achieve a peaceful resolution of the issue.

Although, India’s official statements tells Iran to come clean on its non-proliferation treaty’s (NPT) obligations and comply with international standards, it does not believe in tightening the screws too hard against Tehran. During his meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made plain to Secretary Clinton that India would be guided by national interests when it came to securing its energy supplies.

Pertinently, even as India is reducing its oil imports from Iran marginally, it is denying any comfort to the Americans. Asserted Foreign Minister SM Krishna this is more a commercial decision taken by the refineries. Thus, ending any chance of the US assuming that it was a step towards aligning more with it. According to sources, details regarding India’s energy ties with Iran are likely to come up during an upcoming visit by US Special Envoy for global energy issues Carlos Pasqat later this month.

Additionally, continuing western sanctions against Iran especially in banking facilities have made it difficult for energy related transactions between Delhi and Tehran.  Secretary Clinton during her interactions also emphasised on the feasibility of TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India) pipeline project which envisions transporting oil and gas from Central Asia to India and beyond. Recall, the much talked about IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) pipeline went in to deep freeze thanks to mounting American pressure against it.

But, New Delhi seems to be in no mood to scale down its ties with this Persian Gulf State which possesses some of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas in the world and occupies a critical geo-political landmass in the Middle East.

Instead, India is well on its way to increase its commercial engagement with Iran through a bilateral preferential trade pact. A high-level trade delegation from Tehran visiting New Delhi simultaneously with Secretary Clinton, commented that India-Iran should work together whether “others like or do not like it…”

Towards that end, a study for a preferential trading agreement with Iran has been officially commissioned which could be seen as an effort to diversify trade ties beyond the more traditional and controversial energy sector. New Delhi is also reportedly considering Iran’s permission to open a branch of Persian Bank in Mumbai. Consequently, the Persian tangle is far from over and Indo-US strategic partnership would be severely tested over this issue as both countries are equally determined on safeguarding their respective national interests.

Besides, the ubiquitous issue of terrorism and Pakistan was another important agenda during the visit. Secretary Clinton sought to clear the confusion on the issue of the so-called “bounty” over Hafiz Saeed.  She highlighted that Washington had authorized a $10 million award but it was not meant as any bounty, but a reward for information that could lead to his arrest or conviction. Notwithstanding, the reward for justice itself is a contradiction.

Significantly, New Delhi again reiterated that that it has given Islamabad all dossiers of information on those involved in the Mumbai attacks, but Pakistani authorities have failed to act. Questionably, by announcing a reward for information on Hafiz Saeed, is Washington hinting that New Delhi’s information is not enough? In that case, does it support Islamabad’s contention that India has not given enough information?

Obviously, there are many grey areas here and there needs to be some sort of consensus between the two Governments against Hafiz Saeed who freely engages in anti-India rhetoric by organising anti-India rallies in Pakistan. 

Moreover, the geo-strategic convergences and divergences are just a part of the whole picture. India and the US cooperate and collaborate intensively on a range of areas which do not attract much media attention like New Delhi’s $5 million contribution to a joint initiative with USAID Millenium Alliance, a USAID initiative with FICCI for identification and investment in innovation by Indian civil society and academia which is expected to provide solutions to various developmental challenges.

Clearly, as during the Cold War wherein New Delhi and Washington did not share the best of relationships, there are lingering skeptics on both sides of the fence. For cynics in the US, India will always be a reluctant partner and for those on the Indian side, Washington will always be an unreliable power.

Long held suspicions towards US imperialistic policies and India’s non-aligned tendencies would continue to raise heads. Undeniably, the diversity of ties and both countries’ engagements with other nations on various issues through different perspectives would create more challenges in the future.

Bilateral issue of globalisation like outsourcing and FDI in retail sector would continue to grab sound bites however both India and US have developed habits of cooperation which spans diverse sectors. Both micro and macro that will continue to take ties forward despite differences. In sum, US-India relations should be seen as a marathon, and not a sprint. ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)