India’s rise doesn’t cause concern in US, China does: Sibal

By Sanjeeb Baruah

India’s relations with the US will be on a stronger footing under a Joe Biden presidency, which will promote India’s rise, said Kanwal Sibal, a former foreign secretary and a veteran foreign policy analyst.

“India’s rise does not cause concern in the US as China’s rise does. Besides, India is not in a race to become a superpower by 2049,” said Mr Sibal at a webinar on the future trajectory of India-US relations, organized by India Writes Network.

The Joe Biden presidency holds greater advantage for India as Donald Trump’s approach towards India albeit positive was “unpredictable,” said Mr Sibal.

“We have not been controversial in terms of US the foreign policy. In fact, the India-US relationship has improved over the years, from the end of the Clinton and Bush administrations to the Obama and Trump administrations,” he said at a discussion anchored by Manish Chand, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network and India and the World magazine. “That doesn’t mean there haven’t been any issues or problems, but they have always been at a manageable level,” Mr Sibal, also a former ambassador of India to France and Russia.

Conjuring up an optimistic picture of India-US relations under the Biden presidency, Mr Sibal said: “India and the US have a solid basis to boost ties for many reasons.” “India has not been involved in stealing technologies or violating IPRs or taking lead in technologies that will determine which country will wield the economic, political or military might in future,” he said.

“China has been doing those in terms of getting control of critical supply chains, critical raw materials, and of course, the Belt and Road Initiative, a huge project under the control of a single government,” he said.

China and the Indo-Pacific figured prominently in the 90-minute online discussion that attracted an audience cutting across geographies.

Speaking about China, the diplomat underlined that only “a community of interest” between United States and India can curb “China’s ambition.”

“Joe Biden has a long-standing record of promoting India-US partnership as chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and as Vice President under the Obama administration. As SFRC chair, Biden played an important role in mobilising Democratic Party’s support for the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal during the Bush administration,” said Mr Chand.

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