U.S. President George W. Bush visited two South Asian countries--India and Pakistan--in early March, his first visits to the countries since he assumed the presidency five years ago.
　　The two countries are extremely important to U.S. global strategy: India is a rising power, Pakistan is at the forefront of the counterterrorism battle. Bush’s visit means U.S. strategy toward South Asia, and indeed worldwide, will undergo changes and adjustments.
　　
　　Focus on India
　　
　　In recent years, U.S.-India ties have strengthened with bilateral high-level visits and deepening trade and military cooperation.
　　During Bush’s visit, the two countries reached an agreement on nuclear energy cooperation, which marked a total change in Washington’s nuclear policy toward India. When Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited the United States last July, the two governments discussed the use of nuclear energy for civilian purposes. In recent months, officials from both sides had been working on the negotiations. However, differences over inspection of India’s fast breeder reactor and other issues remained. Before Bush’s visit, the two sides had announced that there was little chance of the agreement coming through.
　　But there was the agreement. According to it, the United States will transfer civilian nuclear technologies and nuclear fuel to India if India promises to separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities and put civilian facilities under international supervision. This means Washington acknowledges that New Delhi is now a member of the “nuclear club.” This U.S.-Indian cooperation in nuclear energy will change the whole situation of world nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
　　Bush and Indian leaders also discussed U.S.-India strategic and cooperative partnership forged in July 2005 to fight terrorism, push forward democratic construction around the globe, boost economic prosperity through fair and free trade, and improve living standards of the people.
　　Why is the United States paying so much attention to India? The reasons are as follows:
　　First, India’s IT revolution has brought the two countries closer together. India is now one of America’s biggest overseas bases for the IT industry and this means the United States cannot ignore the huge profit potential in India.
　　Second, Washington needs New Delhi to stabilize South Asian security, as well as its war on terror.
　　Third, most importantly, India is the best bet to restrict a future strong China, as per U.S. regional strategy in Asia. The American media has said Bush’s India visit is as important as that of Richard Nixon’s trip to China in 1972. Nixon was then trying to get China to resist the Soviet Union. Today, Bush is using the same strategy to resist China.
　　
　　Counterterrorism concerns
　　
　　ANTITERROR PARTNERS: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf welcomes his U.S. counterpart in Islamabad
　　Bush’s Pakistan tour focused on encouraging Pakistani efforts in counterterrorism. Just before his visit, a suicide car bomber rammed into a diplomatic vehicle outside the U.S. consulate in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, killing an American diplomat and four other people. After the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Pakistan has joined the United States in its war on terror and has arrested hundreds of Al Qaeda suspects.
　　The United States will continue to support the Pakistani Government led by President Pervez Musharraf to maintain political stability in the country, so as to realize the American counterterrorism plan and carry out its Middle East democracy strategy, said Bush. He praised Musharraf as “a man with courage” and publicly expressed his good personal relationship with him. The two leaders reaffirmed their cooperation in the fight against global terrorism. Bush wanted the Pakistani side to offer more help in searching for Al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and his followers.
　　The White House is worried that Pakistani extremists might bring down Musharraf when the country holds the presidential election in 2007. During his stay in Pakistan, Bush expressed full support for Musharraf and put aside its democracy theory. The two presidents expressed in a joint statement that the two countries would hold regular strategic dialogues to upgrade their partnership. Besides, they will strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, peace and security, social development, science and technology, democracy and non-proliferation.
　　MUSLIMS’ PROTEST: Indian Muslims shout anti-U.S. slogans during a demonstration against Bush’s visit
　　Such cooperation is aimed at balancing economic and strategic cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, to maintain the power balance in South Asia. Bush stressed that a U.S.-Pakistan investment agreement is underway as the first step toward improving bilateral trade and economic ties.
　　The White House is also trying to re-create America’s image with the Pakistani people, so as to change the Islamic world’s view of the United States. Bush’s visit to Pakistan was, in this sense, also a PR show.
　　Although the United States is strengthening ties with South Asian countries, it does not mean that all its problems in this region have been sorted out.
　　Bush reminded India and Pakistan that U.S. relations with them could give a boost to the India-Pakistan peace process.
　　However, the United States can maximize its profits in this region only when the two countries are neither confrontational nor at peace. As Washington focuses more on the global war on terror and Mid-East democracy, it will take a wait-and-see attitude to the India-Pakistan peace process, given the vexatious Kashmir problem. It will encourage the two countries to take steps to settle the issue, but will not do anything more.
　　There are two more tasks facing the United States after signing the nuclear deal with India. The first is to persuade U.S. Congress to change decades-old laws to transfer nuclear technologies and nuclear fuel to India; the second is to persuade the rest of the 44 Nuclear Suppliers Group members to give India access to nuclear supplies.

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