Political India: Engaging America

Labels: Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. State Department, William Burns India visit

A State Department Spokesperson clarified that the map of India on the Department’s website, which showed Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as part of the territory of Pakistan, “did contain some inaccuracies which were associated with the boundaries of some geographic features [and] this was unintentional.”

The Spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, responded to a question from The Hindu saying the map had been taken off the website and “We are going to get the map fixed and put up a fixed map.”

Admitting that the map on the site earlier “was not drawn properly,” Ms. Nuland added, “We will put up the new map when we acquire one that we are confident is accurate.” However she declined to provide any further details on which officer or department within the State Department was responsible for the map.

The controversy was stoked when the Indian Ministry of External Affairs put out a statement saying, “The Government is aware of the gross inaccuracies, in the map of India, on the U.S. State Department website. The Government has consistently rejected incorrect depiction of India's borders on maps used by the U.S. Government. It has used every opportunity to convey to the U.S. side its concern in this regard, and has asked that these maps be corrected.”

The MEA statement also noted that the government’s dim view on the matter had been “reiterated by a senior MEA official to the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission today, who assured us that the U.S. Embassy would convey our concerns to the U.S. State Department.”

The MEA went further to clarify its view on the territory in question saying, “The Government takes this opportunity to reaffirm that the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and has consistently conveyed to the international community that maps of India should depict the boundaries of our country correctly.”

Labels: boundaries, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, India, U.S., U.S. State Department

A report by the United States Department of Defence submitted to Congress this week suggested that India remained the “primary target” of LeT, the militant group from Pakistan that is held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

This assessment, contained in the Report to Congress on U.S.-India Security Cooperation, was accompanied by strong arguments made in favour of deepening India-U.S. cooperation in the defence sector.

Key among these arguments was the suggestion that the U.S. ought to share “top-of-the-line technology” with India, as exemplified by the case of the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter programme. According to the DoD the JSF, also known as the F-35 Lightning II Programme, has advanced airframe, autonomic logistics, avionics, propulsion systems, stealth, and firepower, which will “ensure that the F-35 is the most affordable, lethal, supportable and survivable aircraft ever to be used by so many war-fighters across the globe.”

In this context the DoD report indicated that although the U.S.’ F-16 and F-18 were not down-selected, in the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition in April 2011, “Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the U.S. would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements... to support India’s future planning.”

In the vital area of counterterrorism cooperation the DoD report noted that LeT’s activities “continue to threaten U.S. interests and South Asian regional stability,” and hence the U.S. would join with key partners such as India, “to expand counterterrorism cooperation... and our current special operations engagements in the region will continue to focus on the mutually beneficial ways in which we can enhance each other’s capabilities.”

In addition to expanding defence trade and armaments cooperation the DoD report argued that there was a continuing case for bolstering military-to-military engagements. In addition to counterterrorism cooperation this imperative would require continued focus on combined exercises, personnel exchanges and training, maritime domain awareness, countering piracy humanitarian assistance, disaster response and relief and naval and coast guard cooperation, the report noted.

Labels: 26/11 attacks, India, Indo-U.S. relations, LeT, mumbai terror, primary target, U.S. Congress, U.S. State Department

Labels: fake currency, India, Indian economy, Pakistan, U.S. State Department

From The Hindu

In an unmistakable indication of backroom discussions shifting up a gear before President Barack Obama’s India visit in November, the State Department announced today that United States National Security Advisor General Jim Jones met with Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to “continue preparations for the President’s upcoming visit”.

According to an official statement General Jones and Ms. Rao reviewed the progress being made in a number of areas, including agriculture, education, economic cooperation, and security. Additionally, General Jones and Ms. Rao were said to have discussed other developments in South Asia, noting their “mutual desire for stability”.

Ms. Rao is in Washington principally to keep the discussions moving forward and it has been announced that next week, Indian Industry Minister Anand Sharma will be in town to similarly add momentum to bilateral trade policy discussions.

The visiting Indian officials were said to be holding meetings with senior U.S. counterparts, including Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns, Under Secretary for Defence Michèle Flournoy, Under Secretary of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Eric Hirschhorn, and Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman.

While it would appear that the U.S. has in general had a positive attitude towards the bilateral relationship, the Indian side has been pressing for further progress with issues such as the H1-B visa fee hike, India’s interest in securing U.S. support for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and its hope that export control restrictions would be eased.

Nuclear liability bill, counter-terrorism on agenda

According to sources, counter-terrorism, and in particular, its cross-border aspects including infiltration, have been an important component of the ongoing talks between the two countries.

So has the civil nuclear liability bill, even if progress on the ground in this area was expected to be gradual. In this sphere, the main argument that India has sought to convey to the U.S. was that the liability bill passed in the Indian Parliament did not contain provisions that were additional to what already existed in common law and did not contradict the Convention on Supplementary Compensation.

The hope was also that all nuclear suppliers participating in India’s nuclear industry would operate on a level playing field, according to sources, and that India was open to continuing a dialogue with the supplier companies.

The U.S.-India dialogue will also cover some new policy subjects of mutual interest such as the governance of the global commons, including maritime security and antipiracy, and ocean domain awareness, it was learned.

Labels: Barack Obama India visit, Jim Jones, Nirupama Rao, Strategic Dialogue, U.S. State Department

From The Hindu

This week the United States will welcome South Asian teenagers to the State Departments under the “Seeds of Peace” programme.

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale will, on Wednesday, address a group of young leaders from Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan who have just completed a three-week conflict resolution programme in Maine.

Founded in 1993 by journalist John Wallach, Seeds of Peace describes itself as being dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence.

Beginning with 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers in 1993, the organisation’s network currently encompasses over 4,000 young people.

Support from the State Department, which has recognised the effectiveness of the model, made it possible in 2001 to launch the South Asia program with Indian and Pakistani youth.

Labels: Seeds of Peace, South Asian teenagers, U.S. State Department