By all indications, the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump exceeded expectations of both sides, on the optics and on the language of their joint statement, with Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar calling it “one of the most productive visits to Washington”.
However, on some aspects of the bilateral relationship, this year’s joint statement fell short of last year’s, when Mr. Modi met Mr. Obama. Here’s a comparison:
Focus on trade
The Indo-U.S. Strategic Partnership is on course, but with the emphasis shifting to trade and economic ties. This is reflected in the titles of the two statements: “Enduring Global Partners in the 21st Century” in 2016, and the more modest “Prosperity Through Partnership” this year. While the 2016 statement focussed on “Bolstering Economic and Trade ties”, this year’s statement is more direct on how that will be done, with references to “balancing the trade deficit” (which, as it is in India’s favour, is a sore point for the Trump administration).
The joint statement of 2017 continues previous references to “a growing strategic convergence” bolstered by military, maritime and intelligence cooperation.
The language of the joint statement this year is much tougher on terrorism, specifically on Pakistan-based terror groups. A few hours before the Trump-Modi meeting, the U.S. State Department moved to make Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin a specially designated global terrorist, a move welcomed by India.
The language on Pakistan is clear, and a departure from last year’s. “The leaders called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries. They further called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other cross-border terrorist attacks perpetrated by Pakistan-based groups,” the statement said, the most direct message in an India-U.S. joint statement thus far.
On China
India indicated it had brought the U.S. round to its position on the Chinese “Belt and Road initiative” with a reference to “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity” on regional connectivity projects, which has been India’s major concern.
However, the statement appears to have softened some of the language on China’s actions in the South China Sea. For example, instead of saying the two countries would “ensure” freedom of navigation, overflight and commerce through the Indo-Pacific region (that refers to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean), the language in 2017 only “reiterates the importance of respecting freedom of navigation,” etc.
In place of the 2016 language calling for India and the U.S. to “secure the domains” of land, maritime, air, space, and cyber, in 2017, it speaks of being “responsible stewards” and “democratic stalwarts in the Indo-Pacific Region.”
North Korea new entrant
North Korea is a new entrant into the joint statement, in keeping with Mr. Trump’s sharp focus on curbing Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear and ballistic belligerence, with the leaders calling his “destabilizing pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a grave threat to regional security and global peace”.
Traditionally, India has maintained trade and low-profile relations with North Korea, and in 2015, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj even received North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, the first such visit in 25 years.
Mr. Trump welcomed “further Indian contributions to promote Afghanistan’s democracy, stability, prosperity, and security Recognizing the importance of their respective strategic partnerships with Afghanistan, the leaders committed to continue close consultations and cooperation in support of Afghanistan’s future.”A clearer picture will emerge once Defence Secretary James Mattis unveils the U.S.’ revised Af-Pak policy in mid-July.
Climate change
While cooperation on energy is highlighted in the joint statement, it was to be expected that all reference to the Unites States’ commitment to helping India battle climate change would be dropped, given Mr. Trump’s harsh observations when he pulled out of the Paris accord.
In 2016, this had occupied a hefty space, entitled “Advancing U.S.-India Global Leadership on Climate and Clean Energy”.
The India-U.S. civil nuclear deal, which was due to see the conclusion of the NPCIL-Westinghouse agreement for six reactors by June 2017, appears to be on hold for the moment, with Foreign Secretary Mr. Jaishankar expressing the hope that Westinghouse, which has filed for bankruptcy, will be “back in business” by the end of 2017.
