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Policy on India-U.S. ties has not been inconsistent or partisan for 25 years: Jaishankar
The remarks, which were made at a memorial lecture, come in the context of recent friction in the bilateral relationship, the latest being Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia last month
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivers the 7th Jasjit Singh Memorial Lecture at the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), at Air Force Auditorium in New Delhi on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Indo-U.S. relationship has been one policy that has “not been inconsistent or partisan” whatever the public debate on it is and we are consistently beating market expectations for the last 25 years, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday while acknowledging that there have been bumps and divergences. The comments came against the backdrop of recent friction in the relationship, the latest being Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia last month.
“To me the U.S. relationship, more than any other relationship, is testimony of the changing world. I feel that often the pessimistic scenarios happen because they are behind the curve. They’re not actually understanding today where the relationship is. We have bumps. I’m not saying we don’t. We have issues, we have divergences. But we are consistently beating market expectations because the market is consistently behind us where this relationship is concerned, not now, for the last 25 years,” Mr. Jaishankar said speaking at Jasjit Singh Memorial Lecture organised by the Centre For Air Power Studies (CAPS).
Also read | Is all well in Indo-U.S. partnership?
Days after Mr. Modi’s visit to Russia in July, U.S. AmbassadorEric Garcetti cautioned that the relationship with the U.S. should “not be taken for granted” and that “in times of conflict there’s no such thing as strategic autonomy”. In Washington, senior U.S. officials including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and State Department official Donald Lu called the visit a “disappointment” in terms of “symbolism and timing”. In turn, India asserted its “freedom of choice” and “strategic autonomy” on foreign relations.
Narasimha Rao’s role
Tracing the trajectory of the India-U.S. relationship, Mr. Jaishankar said there were opportunities in the early 1940s to 1950s and then after the 1962 war with China. “Then I have a bit of a question mark about it you can say in the [PM] Rajiv Gandhi era,” he remarked, but “I think structurally we were too close to the Soviets for that really to work. In fact, I would give more credit to [former PM] Narasimha Rao as a person who in a way, you know, freed up our system there.”
“But and I think subsequently, every government has built up on it. At least that’s one policy which has not been inconsistent or partisan, actually, at least where the actual policy is concerned, whatever the public debate on it is,” Mr. Jaishankar noted.
Different utility
Pointing out that the world has changed, American interests have changed, and so has global competition, the Union Minister said: “Our value in the world is different for the world, but for the U.S. as well. America’s utility for us is also very different. That also is not a point to be forgotten.”
So a large part of, when you say grand strategy, is actually to continuously in today’s parlance is to keep pressing the refresh button. Because the moment we are three years, five years out of date, we are actually not on the right track. That we are pursuing something which is outdated, which is probably not going to happen because of that.
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