Add Five 'E's to Make a Partnership

The United States, ideally, should lay the groundwork for an enduring partnership with India, even though India has not been a high priority in U.S. grand strategy. In the decade to come, however, Washington should build bridges to this awakening democratic giant. India's economy has never grown faster; its democracy remains vibrant, if noisy; its population, although growing at a slower rate, will surpass China's number and level off at 1.5 billion in the next half-century. Unlike other countries, India is receptive to a deeper relationship with the sole superpower. A liberalized economy, a more internationalist attitude toward world politics, and an unprecedented appreciation of U.S. purposes and power are propelling India toward the United States.

An Indian-U.S. partnership would be a force for stability in world politics. Global stability will depend on peace and cooperation in Asia and a growing net of constructive interactions among the major powers of this superregion. The United States is the linchpin here. India, on the other hand, is an emerging power with capabilities that extend to the Asia-Pacific region. Both countries have vital interests in Asia, from the Persian Gulf to East Asia and throughout the Indian Ocean. These common interests relate to oil supplies, proliferation, ethnic disaffection, fundamentalism, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, freedom of the seas, safety of sea lanes, peaceful resolution of territorial disputes, and a balance of power. A full-fledged strategic partnership between the United States and India, however, is some time away. In the interim, New Delhi and Washington must build understanding, links, and a foundation of military and nonmilitary cooperation that will move them toward deeper engagement. As the more powerful country, the United States, ideally, would initiate this more thoroughgoing relationship.

Over the last few years, the United States has created the basis for a long-term partnership between the two countries. President Bill Clinton's visit to India in March 2000 and the Indian prime minister's return visit to the United States in September dramatized the new relationship. The Bush administration has the opportunity in five issue areas to go beyond mere visits: a strategic entente; economics; energy; ecology; and epidemics. The "vision statement" signed in New Delhi in March 2000 and affirmed in September conceives of an architecture built largely around these five "E"s. ¹ The United States should now boldly do what no administration has done previously with India and put real bricks and mortar into the relationship.

Entente

At the heart of the partnership with India should be a strategic entente. During the next four years, the United States should cooperate with India to reduce global nuclear dangers; assist in Indian defense modernization; bring Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists to the negotiating table with New Delhi; work with Indian leaders to create a cooperative security system in Asia, like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); and support India's bid for permanent membership on the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

Nuclear proliferation has historically constrained development of the Indian-U.S. relationship. The dialogue between Jaswant Singh, India's external affairs minister, and Strobe Talbott, former U.S. deputy secretary of state, has demonstrated, however, that the two governments can conduct business more productively. The United States should cooperate with India to reduce nuclear dangers in two ways. First, India and the United States should reassure each other about their nuclear policies. India should amplify its conception of a minimal nuclear deterrent and delineate more clearly its system of command and control. The United States should lift the sanctions--triggered by India's nuclear testing--which are accomplishing little. Further, the two sides should find a way to resume civilian nuclear cooperation. If the United States can sign a nuclear accord with North Korea, it can cooperate with India to improve the safety of its nuclear plants. An urgent priority is the need to shut down the unsafe U...