There is increasing discontent in Bharati political circles about the state of affairs of Indo-US relations. here is a sampling.

”In a nutshell, Singh got a nice state ceremony, China got respect as an equal and Pakistan has got billions of dollars of additional US aid,” said Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. ”India will have to be satisfied with the sumptuous dinner.”

While we [India] were deluding ourselves with Chindia (that China and India will call the shots in the future) and hetting paranoid about Chi-Pak (China and Pakistan are encircling India from two sides), US and China forged a new relationship. And the basis of this relationship is: that they will have their spheres of influence – east, south east and south Asia and Africa for China; and Europe and Latin America for the US. So, it was not just a coincidence that Obama gave China the role of monitor in South Asia. Shobhan Saxena Times of India

Strategically India and the US are growing apart–Great Delhi supporter and Indophile–Stephen Cohen  

Why ‘Chinusa’, Chipak will rule the world & Chindia failed–An Indian perspective

Singh failed in the main objective of his visit – to ”operationalise” the nuclear deal concluded in the Bush era. While Obama pledged to ”fully implement” the agreement, potentially crucial details of nuclear technology transfers to India have not been finalised. Matt Wade Herald Correspondent SMH Australia

Obama rebuffs PM Singh–eulogizes Pakistan as important ally

So, what’s in store for India? The only option available to India is junior partnership with both US and China. We can only have a buyer-seller ties with them. They sell and we buy. They sell their nuclear reactors and fighter jets and bankrupt companies to us and we save their economy with our hard cash. It’s the same situation with China. Shobhan Saxena Times of India

Obama rebuffs PM Singh–eulogizes Pakistan as important ally

“It seemed to suggest that India had simply fallen between two stools – Pakistan and China were urgent priorities for different reasons,” Editorial in the Indian Express newspaper Monday, November 23rd, 2009.

We may aspire to a seat at the high table of world power but China is already sitting at the head of the table along with the United States,”…”It has enough IOUs in its pocket to stop anyone from pushing it around. We also are a billion-strong nation, a democracy to boot and growing economically at a still impressive rate given the global conditions. But, realistically speaking, we are a second or perhaps third tier force in the eyes of the United States.” Journalist Gautam Adhikari in the Times of India Monday.

The discussion become fascinating in Delhi. Here is an interesting take from the Indian point of view

Finally, the prime minister has spoken. Today, Manmohan Singh said a few things about China’s aggression, growth, and values, etc. Since the prime minister decided to make this statement in Washington, it’s clear who he is talking to and why he is talking now. Last week, President Obama, while in Beijing, gave China the role of monitor over South Asia: to keep an eye on India-Pakistan relations and tensions and all that jazz. Now, Manmohan Singh seems to be telling Obama that he made a mistake and that India could be a better partner than China. The prime minister may have his reasons to be optimistic. 

The first reason could be the sealing of the nuclear deal with the US. The second: G-20 replacing G-7 as the world’s most elite club, and India is a member of G-20. This might have given us an illusion of getting closer to the sole superpower in the world and the possibility of a place in G-5 (the five permanent members of the UN security council). 

The truth is nothing matters anymore. All the elite clubs – G-20, G-7, G-77, G-5 – are totally irrelevant. There is only one group – G-2 – that matters. And the members of this group are China and US. Let’s call it ‘Chinusa’. Chinusa is dictating the terms, telling the world what to do. And everything else – Chindia and Chi-pak – is secondary and subservient to ‘Chinusa’. 

This may sound far-fetched because the only thing we hear about is the great rivalry between the US and China. People have been talking about a bipolar world and the restart of the Cold War again. This time the two poles being US and China. But the fact is unlike the Cold War days, when US and USSR were not only ideologically opposed to each other, they had no relations – political, business, cultural, sports, etc. with each other. The US and USSR had created two separate universes on this planet – east and west – and they ruled their spheres, while trying to destabilise the other. 

Compare this with the present situation. Both China and US believe in one ideology: unbridled capitalism. They are each other’s biggest trading partners.

In fact, they are caught in a mutual hostage situation. China’s growth depends on US imports and US economy depends on strong Chinese foreign reserve because China holds around $800 billion in US treasury bonds. But it will be naïve to imagine that the US treasury bonds is the basis of growing US-China partnership. 

While we were deluding ourselves with Chindia (that China and India will call the shots in the future) and getting paranoid about Chi-Pak (China and Pakistan are encircling India from two sides), US and China forged a new relationship. And the basis of this relationship is: that they will have their spheres of influence – east, south east and south Asia and Africa for China; and Europe and Latin America for the US. So, it was not just a coincidence that Obama gave China the role of monitor in South Asia. This week, Iranian president Ahmadinejad is going to Brazil and the US has expressed its displeasure with the visit. China has been silent because Latin America falls in US area of influence. 

And as far as encircling India is concerned, it’s just not China which is doing that. The US army is already in Afghanistan. Maybe it will move into Pakistan soon. They are moving closer to us every day. 

So, what’s in store for India? The only option available to India is junior partnership with both US and China. We can only have a buyer-seller ties with them. They sell and we buy. They sell their nuclear reactors and fighter jets and bankrupt companies to us and we save their economy with our hard cash. It’s the same situation with China. 

India is trapped from both sides. Because we didn’t anticipated the rise of Chinusa, we didn’t prepare for the situation when the world’s two biggest economies will join hands to manipulate everyone else. At the moment, there is no other option but to play second fiddle to both US and China. Our delusion of playing China against the US and vice-versa or becoming a counter weight to China in Asia is dangerous. The US doesn’t need any counter weight. It has already struck a deal with China. From WTO to climate to nuclear weapons, now all future deals will be done and dictated by Chinusa. 

The prime minister shouldn’t be talking about China in US. That’s a mistake. We should be thinking about Chinusa (No I am not talking about the women of Asian origin with light skin). I am talking about the new global monster. That’s the real threat to India. Times of India.  Forget China, the real threat is ‘Chinusa’ Shobhan Saxena Tuesday November 24, 2009