US-India Relations

By: Nicole Redman

Kashmir Dispute

• When India and Pakistan became separate nations in 1947, Kashmir did not accede into either nation.

• Pakistan invaded Kashmir• US neutrality for a long time.• Recently, Clinton, Bush, and Obama have

expressed the need for the dispute and attacks be ended.

India, China, and the US• India was upset when Obama visited Beijing in 2009.• The U.S. wants to build stronger alliances with India

in order to counterbalance China, especially if China would become aggressive.

• India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea, as Dr. Chellaney(a security expert at the Center for Policy Research in Delhi) puts it, “are the four key democracies that you need to contain China.”

• Companies in India may also help to upset the monopolies that China has on many products used in the U.S.

India, Asia, and the U.S.

• The Arabian Gulf – India is a possible successor

• “East Asian Power”

Bill Clinton and India

• Clinton visited India and began the current stance on open trade with India.

• Major parties in India believed that Clinton only wanted to achieve peace in Kashmir and ensure that no strong alliances have been made between India and China.

• Clinton visited Pakistan and asked them to forget the Kashmir incidence and to stop their development of nuclear arms, but to this day the fighting in Kashmir has not ended.

George W. Bush and India

• Focused on trade and outsourcing, which helped India’s economy.

• Started the a civil nuclear cooperation deal, which helped to reinforce the legitimacy of India as a nuclear nation.

• Bush lobbied to allow India to purchase• Bush said that India and Pakistan needed to resolve their

own issues, and did not say much about it because of the support from Pakistan in the war on terror.

• The relations between India and the U.S. was weakened because of this.

Barack Obama and India

• Obama’s visit to India: World’s largest democracy and the world’s oldest democracy.

• “India is not emerging, India has emerged” Information age rooted in India.

• Bound by shared values• Deeper partnership, although • Climate Change• Mumbai and Kashmir conflict – cannot impose a

solution

Nuclear Cooperation

• Assistance from the U.S. to the Indian• India will allow the International Atomic

Energy Association (IAEA), of the UN, to inspect its nuclear program, and continue to monitor it.

• The U.S. companies will be allowed to build nuclear reactors in India.

US-India Relations Options

• 1. We could stress the changes that the Indian government needs to take, and back off of relations with India until they become more developed. Stick with The U.S.’s close relations with China.

• 2. The U.S. could continue to build stronger and deeper relations with India and use this relationship in order to counterbalance China. We could continue to promote their development and help them financially.

Option #2• The U.S. should continue to strengthen their

relationship with India for many reasons:– Counterbalance China in case of aggression and in

economy– Help India to develop more fully in their economy

and nuclear program– Help to boost the American economy and security

as well– Combine strong democracies and help strengthen

the Indian democracy– Keep India from forging strong alliances with China