The India-United States Global Strategic Partnership will be up for review as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sit down to take a holistic view of the engagement that spreads across various sectors ranging from space to sea.
Secretary Blinken's maiden visit to India in his new avatar is a swift follow up to the sojourn of Jaishankar to Washington DC this May. He is the second high-ranking member of the Joseph Biden administration to arrive in New Delhi since Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in March this year. In between came a quick call-on by John Kerry, the US President's Special Envoy on Climate Change.
The preliminary agenda outlined by the US include cooperation in times of the global health pandemic, Indo-Pacific engagement, shared regional security interest, shared democratic values and addressing the climate crisis. India would prefer a detailed conversation on these, emphasising the evolving situation in Afghanistan, while seeking to engage Washington on human rights and democracy.
Human Rights
While the State Department announcement of the visit made no specific reference to human rights, Dean Thomson, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the Biden administration, has flagged the issue stating: "and with respect to the human rights and democracy question…we will raise it, and we will continue that conversation, because we firmly believe that we have more values in common on those fronts than we don't. And we believe India is going to be a really important part of continuing those conversations and building strong efforts on those fronts in partnership as we go forward."
Thomson had observed this in response to a question on how the Biden administration views the situation in the backdrop of the 'cosy relationship' India had with the Trump administration amidst a perception the government passed legislation unfavourable to minorities.
Unlike the US, India preferred to swiftly communicate through anonymous officials its willingness to engage those who "value its diversity", "we believe in equity, fairness, whether in development, climate change or global decision making."
For the past few decades, human rights keep cropping up on the agenda intermittently from Washington. Yet not always do conversations held inside the room on the subject seep out. Human rights watch groups remain ever so active with the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour presenting periodic reports to the US Congress, including India. According to people privy to the Bureau's work, reports on the India situation sent to higher echelons in the administration were accorded low priority until a few years ago.
The current political landscape in the United States is quite different in the post-Trump era. President Biden is conducting affairs of the state when the Republicans remain aggressive, and a section of his Democratic Party is pushing a progressive agenda.
The Biden administration continues to negotiate with the Republicans to his Build America Better initiative through massive infrastructure spending, creating more jobs at home, dealing with China and reconfigure the US economy. He is balancing it with the priorities of the progressive Democrats advocating liberalised daily wages, better working conditions, racial justice and the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement.
The progressives on Capitol Hill include two of the most prominent Indian-Americans, Rohit' Ro'Khanna (California) and Pramila Jayapal (Washington State). They raise issues such as the farmers' agitation in India after the passage of the farm laws and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. During Blinken's visit, the human rights talk should be seen in the context of domestic and Congressional assertions. In fact, after his visit, Defence Secretary Austin maintained he raised the issue with India.
Interestingly, nearly a decade ago, when a secretary from the then administration sought to convey to an Indian Minister on the Raisina Hill that he has to report to the US Congress on developments on an issue, the minister shot back, stating they too have to answer in Parliament.
Covid-19 cooperation
On the other hand, several members of Congress, both on the Senate and House side, including the progressive, coaxed the Biden administration to extend help to India when people were facing the brutality of the second wave of global health pandemic.
After the devastating Covid-19 swept through India this summer, the United States, through its government, corporate and public-spirited people, mounted a major relief operation allocating $226 million since March 2020, including $100 million after April this year. In addition, its citizens and corporations pumped in aid worth $400 million.
Quad and Indo-Pacific
The Wednesday meeting should also review the vaccine programme, especially since the Quad decided that India would produce the vaccines with funds from the United States and Japan and logistics support from Australia. Later this autumn, Washington is preparing to host the first in-person Summit of Quad leaders, a follow up of the virtual meeting earlier this year.
Early into his presidency, Biden moved the pieces on Quad and announced continuity on the Indo-Pacific construct. Secretary of State Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd have been travelling to countries in the region to provide a concrete shape to the idea. The United States is also scheduled to host the 2+2 later this year.
Afghanistan
Like most other countries in the region, India continues to track developments in the war-torn country where the landscape is changing. The Taliban is engaging in an armed push seeking to expand its hold on districts. Some estimate nearly half of the 400 districts are already under its shadow.
With the Americans on course to end their "forever war" by September 11, it is anybody's guess whether the Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul can hold on to the position even as the Taliban emphasised his leadership was not acceptable. The catch is whether the Taliban would force its way through or await the outcome of a negotiated settlement as international pressure is being garnered around the idea.
Jaishankar should be sharing New Delhi's assessment of the developing situation and viewpoint of several governments in the region following his trips to a few Central Asian countries during the past fortnight. While there appears to be a thaw in India-Pakistan relations since the ceasefire agreement earlier this year, New Delhi is wary of Islamabad's intention in Afghanistan, given its deep-rooted connections with the Taliban leaders.
Will Washington exert greater influence on Islamabad as it rolls out another Quad diplomatic platform with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan with the spotlight on regional connectivity? The development comes around a time the United States, China and Russia included Pakistan in the extended Troika for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. (Ends)
(The writer is a Delhi-based journalist.)