12 Mar 2014
When he was the President elect in 2009, Barack Obama, as per reports planned to appoint Richard Holbrooke as a special envoy for India-Pakistan- Afghanistan region. The then Foreign Minister of India, and the current Indian President Pranab Mukherjee strongly opposed it and made it unequivocally clear that the move “smacks of interference and would be unacceptable [to India].”
Mukherjee was concerned that envoy with a mandate for the three nations would also take it on his part to “interfere” in Kashmir issue in which India has kept a third party away from meddling.
“Mukherjee was deeply concerned about any move toward an envoy with a broad regional mandate that could be interpreted to include Kashmir. Such a broad mandate would be viewed by India as risky and unpredictable, exposing issues of vital concern to India to the discretion of the individual appointed,” a Wikileaks cable noted.
Subsequent to intense lobbying by India, Hoolbrooke’s (who is no more) Job Description was devoid of India and thereby Kashmir.
In his second term, the Obama administration found itself on the defensive side when an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was arrested and subjected to strip and cavity searches on charges of certain visa violations by authorities there, despite she was enjoying diplomatic immunity, according to India. India paid back to US in a different coin revoking certain diplomatic privileges enjoyed by its officials. Finally John Kerry expressed his regrets on the Devyani incident.
Since, then, the US-India relationship is teetering on the edge of an abyss. From snooping on India, to solar dispute, to pharma patent rows, to the civil nuclear liability issue, the chords of discord have been multiplying.
Iran Oil
On a latest note, US has ‘asked’ India to curtail oil imports from Iran to 1, 95,000 barrels as a part of the deal signed by Iran and six nations to which India is not a party.
A nuclear armed Iran is not in the interests of India. And past reports suggest that Iran, by undertaking certain enrichment efforts has violated Non Proliferation Treaty provisions to which it is a signatory. By supporting the deal and prodding for diplomatic solutions, India’s tune and tone has always been conducive for a peaceful solution.
Now take a look at this Reuters exclusive:
“India, with the increases already made in the January-March loading plans from Iran, has to cut its purchases of the crude to about 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) to drop its intake average to 195,000 bpd for the six months to July 20.
Under the November 24 agreement between Iran and six world powers, the OPEC member [Iran] was to hold oil exports at “current volumes” of about 1 million bpd, and a message delivered by a top U.S. energy policy official to Indian ministries in February was the first clear sign of low tolerance for any increases.”
While one cannot know of the content of the message or its tone the reply of an Indian official provides for enough clues that it was not a pleasant one.
"It is a fact that they (the United States) have asked us that Iran's exports to India should not exceed 195,000 bpd between January to July and we have said that we'll take care of that," said one of the government sources, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.”
Taking into consideration the global stakes involved in this deal between Iran and world powers, energy strapped India should do everything it can to attain the necessary outcomes even if it means curtailing sourcing of crude from Iran.
By asking India (and not requesting) who is not a party to the deal, one would also doubt if US would use the same language when communicating with China, Japan and South Korea, who have also stepped up their oil imports from Iran since the interim deal was signed.
In the context of so many disputes proliferating between India and US, the authorities in US would do well if they show a bit more of politeness and discretion in approach when dealing with India.
This is a suggestion applicable for every other issue, present and future.
After all, arrogance is not American! (rakesh.neelakandan@gmail.com)
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