The China-US joint statement issued by presidents Hu Jintao and Barack Obama on Tuesday which referred to India-Pakistan relations is indeed the proverbial red rag for New Delhi.South block has done the right thing by refusing to react though it was left to foreign policy wonks to vent their irritation and ire about it. But it is not sufficient to display diplomatic restraint in the matter at the official, and be angry at the unofficial, level. What is needed is to understand the politics behind it.
The US may be going through economic turmoil which makes some question its superpower status, but it undoubtedly remains a military power to be reckoned with. Washington is now seeking partners to leverage its declining hegemony. China is indeed the rising economic and military power. But the Chinese approach to power is radically different from that of the Americans. The Americans are committed to global engagement, even when it leads to disasters like in Afghanistan. The Chinese, on the other hand, are not going to be proactive in global politics. All that interests them is to consolidate and safeguard its own power within its own borders and in Tibet and in Taiwan. The Chinese will never send troops to any trouble spot in the world as the Americans do.
It is necessary to keep the attitude of the Chinese and Americans in mind while taking note of the reference to India and Pakistan in the joint statement. Americans have been sucked into the jihadi maelstrom in Afghanistan-Pakistan, and they do not know how to get out of it. Pakistan is a worrying factor for the Americans. It was natural that Obama talked it over with Hu. The Chinese view Pakistan in the most pragmatic terms. They are only too willing to leverage India-Pakistan differences to their own advantage. The Chinese are not averse to creating pinpricks for India. The Americans on the other hand naively believe that if India makes peace with Pakistan — whatever that means — their own task in fighting Islamic terrorism will become easier. There is much to be questioned in both the American and Chinese viewpoints on this.
The reference in the joint statement should not be interpreted to mean that the US and China are joining forces against India and supporting Pakistan. It is a clear that behind the language of the joint statement is a divided worldview. New Delhi needs to pay attention but not lose sleep over it.
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