America-India Relations: In his new book, former US National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) H R McMaster has claimed that the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on “unprecedented” cooperation with the US, mainly because of Chinese aggression, but at the same time it is “fearful” of being “trapped and abandoned”.
McMaster has made these revelations in his book ‘At War with Ourselves’ while giving details of his tenure as National Security Advisor (NSA) during the administration of former US President Donald Trump. In his book, McMaster has given a detailed account of his visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India between 14 April 2017 and 17 April 2017. During his visit to India, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Doval in New Delhi. Jaishankar was then the Foreign Secretary and late Sushma Swaraj was the Foreign Minister.
What did McMaster claim in the book?
“We talked about the war in Afghanistan and the threat to India from a nuclear-armed Pakistan, but Jaishankar and Doval spoke mainly about China’s growing assertiveness. Xi Jinping’s push for unprecedented cooperation in the face of such assertiveness was clear. A deepening partnership between the world’s largest and the world’s oldest democracies makes sense, but India fears being drawn into competitions it would prefer to stay away from and being abandoned by America’s dwindling attention span and ambiguity about South Asia,” he wrote.
He said the legacy of India’s leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War and these concerns are the reason for its ambivalent behavior towards Russia, an important source of arms and oil for India. On the last day of his visit, he met Modi at his residence.
McMaster said this about PM Modi
The former NSA wrote, “Modi welcomed us warmly. It was clear that deepening and expanding our relationship was his top priority. He expressed concern over China’s increasingly aggressive efforts to increase its influence at the expense of India and its growing military presence in the region. McMaster said that Modi suggested that the US, India, Japan and like-minded partners should emphasize the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific as an inclusive effort in contrast to China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative so that everyone can benefit.
