China will be a major challenge, says US expert

August 26, 2016 01:47 am | Updated 01:47 am IST - NEW DELHI:

In the twilight of the Obama Presidency, a section of the American policy makers is asking for realistic assessment of the rise of China, and indicating that the “natural US enthusiasm to manage the world” might confront China in future.

“China will be a major challenge in the years to come. US does not want to be assertive in Asia but US does not want the Asian balance of power to deteriorate in any way,” said Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate of Carnegie Endowment, and added, “Obama arrested over-extension of US with a grand strategy of rebalancing of Asia, inter-Asian partnership and redoubled strategic dialogue with India”

Addressing a select audience days before India and the United States hold the last Strategic Dialogue of the Obama Presidency on August 30, Mr Tellis said on Thursday that ‘strategic dialogue’ and ‘inter-Asia partnership’ helped in maintaining Asian order during the Obama Presidency.

Mr Tellis said that the US has “arrested” wasteful investment in bleeding wars like in Syria and Iraq, but hinted that the “natural enthusiasm of the US to manage affairs for the world” might return in the next presidency under Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. “Let us have no doubt that the US wants to protect its allies in Asia,” he said.

Engage China

Mr Tellis had earlier this month said in Mumbai that India should directly engage China for securing support for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and China should extend support to India’s membership bid at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for the ‘sentiment of 1.2 billion people’ .

“I am not expecting miracles. But the real challenge is going to what we can achieve together in the next two months and if Mr Modi can charm Mr Xi Jingping to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. I hope Mr Modi will remind Mr Xi that the choice that China will make in the next NSG session will be even more consequential,” Mr Tellis had remarked in an Asia Society interaction.

Observations from Mr Tellis came in the run up to the second Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) between India and the US which would also be the last such dialogue between the two countries of the Obama Presidency. During the August 29-31 visit to Delhi, Secretary of State John Kerry will is likely to hold talks with senior Indian officials. Mr Kerry will be accompanied by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker who will be the co-chair of the S&CD.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.