Opinion ‘More leaders on both sides need to speak up for this partnership,and fight harder for it’

Furthermore,it is because of our shared values that we view the rise of India as inherently good in itself. At a time when many have become enamoured with an authoritarian model of state capitalism and its ability to generate wealth and power,there can be no greater demonstration that political pluralism,free markets,and the rule of law are a morally and materially superior way to organise diverse societies than the success of democratic India. Who can believe in “Asian values” or doubt the universality of democratic capitalism in a world where India exists? …To unleash the full potential of our partnership,we must resist the forces that would turn our strategic relationship into a transactional one — one defined not by what we do together but by what concessions we extract from one another.

…The main challenge to this common vision,as well as a central threat to US and Indian security,is the violent Islamist extremism emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan. My last visit to India was,by chance,just days after the tragic date that Indians mark as 26/11 — the terror attacks in Mumbai. Being in India then was like experiencing September 11 all over again,and the restraint shown by Prime Minister Singh was an amazing act of statesmanship…

Afghanistan has become a major source of tension between the United States and India,for the primary reason that India does not believe we will stay until the job is done… The consequences will certainly be terrible for us,but they will even be worse for India,which will have a terrorist safe haven on its periphery. The task of managing that threat would only deepen India’s reliance on Russia and Iran,which would further strain US-India relations. In short,I can think of few more immediate ways to damage the US-India relationship — and to convince India that the United States is both a declining power and an unreliable partner — than for us to pull out of Afghanistan before achieving our goals.

Similarly,we must remember that US policy toward Pakistan has enormous implications for our relations with India. We must cooperate with Pakistan’s military for vital reasons of US national security,but we must not forget that our broader strategic interests are not entirely aligned. Nothing the United States has done since September 11,2001,has changed the basic strategic calculus of the Pakistani army: When compelled,it is willing to fight terrorist groups that threaten Pakistan,but not related groups that threaten Afghanistan,India,and increasingly America as well. What’s worse,some in Pakistan’s army and intelligence service continue to support these terrorist groups as tools of regional influence. Here,too,a belief that America will withdraw prematurely from Afghanistan has only reinforced the Pakistani military’s inclination to hedge its bets. That this behaviour has not proved catastrophic for Pakistan has been entirely too dependent on good luck and extraordinary restraint,especially on India’s part. But if,God forbid,our luck runs out,I don’t know if restraint will be an option,either for India or for us.

At the same time,just as we do not want to go back to viewing India solely through the lens of Pakistan,we hope India will not view its relationship with us mainly through that same lens now…

Strengthening democracy and security along India’s periphery will propel India’s rise beyond its region,which leads to the second goal I would propose for US-India relations: shaping a preponderance of power that protects and promotes freedom in the Asia-Pacific region.

… We view the enhancement of India’s defence capabilities and its increasing interoperability with US forces as similarly positive. Now,I realise that many in India are sceptical of such a proposal,viewing it as limiting India’s autonomy and eroding its sovereignty. In fact,the opposite is true. The decision about whether to cooperate with the United States will always rest with India’s democratic leaders; greater interoperability simply creates more options for how to cooperate if India chooses to do so.

With political will on both sides,there is no reason why we cannot develop a joint US-Indian concept of operations for both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

…While India and the United States each continue to encourage a peaceful rise for China,we must recognise that one of the greatest factors for shaping this outcome,and making it more likely,is a robust US-India strategic partnership — as well as our ability to multiply our power together with like-minded states.

The final goal I would propose for US-India relations is to shore up the liberal international order that has expanded peace and prosperity over the past seven decades. At its heart are the values of the Enlightenment that both India and the United States cherish: the sovereign equality of states,the peaceful resolution of disputes,the productive expansion of trade,and the inalienable rights of all individuals…. To play this role,India must be represented in the foundational institutions of the global order. The United States should push for India’s inclusion in the International Energy Agency,the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum,and those parts of the global non-proliferation regime from which India is still excluded. Most of all,the United States should support India’s permanent membership on an expanded UN Security Council. If we want India to join us in sharing the responsibilities for international peace and security,then the world’s largest democracy needs to have a seat at the high table of international politics.

… On the US side,then,we cannot allow our anxieties about globalisation to cause us to demonise India for crass political gain. Outsourcing is an inescapable feature of today’s global economy,not an Indian plot to steal American jobs,and we should not condone any unfair punishments of Indian workers. On the Indian side,relations with the US cannot remain a political club,which the party out of power uses to beat up the party in power for doing exactly what it would have done were it governing. More leaders on both sides need to speak up for this partnership,and fight harder for it,and build the public support needed to sustain our strategic priorities. If not,our relationship will fall far short of its potential,as it has before.

It is this simple,my friends: If the 21st century is defined more by peace than war,more by prosperity than misery,and more by freedom than tyranny,I believe future historians will look back and point to the fact that a strategic partnership was consummated between the world’s two preeminent democratic powers,India and the United States.

From a speech at the at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC,on Friday