WASHINGTON:
Bull in a China shop is not an expression one would normally use to describe India’s mild-mannered Prime Minister, but at a Washington think-tank on Monday evening Manmohan Singh was anything but delicate on India’s newly nettlesome neighbor before an audience that is largely in thrall of the Middle Kingdom’s meteoric rise on the global stage.
In candid remarks that were keenly scrutinized in the context of New Delhi’s niggling troubles with Beijing and US overtures to the country, Dr Singh offered an Indian perspective on rising China that included an admission that lately, ''there is but a certain amount of assertiveness on the Chinese part. I don't fully understand the reasons for it."
Singh prefaced that comment by telling his audience that India recognized that it has a long standing border problem with China which it was trying to resolve it through dialogue. In the meanwhile both countries have agreed that pending the resolution of the border problem, peace and tranquility should be maintained in the border line. ''Having said that I should say that I have received these assurances from Chinese leadership from the highest level,'' he added, suggesting that Beijing was not entirely sticking to the script.
But for that one discordant, complaining note vis-à-vis Beijing, Singh indicated that India was on the same page as the rest of the world on China, wanting to prepare for its peaceful rise as a major power. ''So, engagement is the right strategy for India as well as for United States. We ourselves have tried very hard to engage China in the last five years and today China is one of our major trading partners,'' he said.
Singh remarks came against the backdrop of President Obama’s own visit to China last week in course of which some Indian analysts felt he (Obama) was sub-contracting or outsourcing oversight of South Asian peace and security to the East Asian giant and accepting it as a rising if not equal partner, to the detriment of India. That episode came on the heels of India’s renewed tensions with China on the border issue, and over the travels of Dalai Lama to regions Beijing regards as disputed.
Singh was also unexpectedly tetchy about comparisons between Indian and Chinese economic growth, saying while there is no doubt that Chinese performance is superior to India's, ''there are other values which are important than the growth of Gross Domestic Product.''
''I think the respect for fundamental human rights, the respect for the rule of law, respect for multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious rights, I think those have values. So, even the Indian perforce with regard to the GDP might not be as good as the Chinese, certainly I would not like to choose the Chinese path," he said in unusually blunt remarks that constituted a criticism of the Chinese model.
Singh’s candid public statements on China, Pakistan (no purposeful talks till it abjures terrorism and acts on 26/11), and Afghanistan (insisting India will stay the course against Taliban and asking US and international community to do the same militarily) set the stage for his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday following a ceremonial state welcome on the South Lawns of the White House.
Showing posts with label Manmohan Singh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manmohan Singh. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Nothing to fear from india-Manmohan Singh to Pakistan
WASHINGTON:
Terming as "tragic" Pakistan's use of terror as state policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said India is ready to resolve all outstanding issues with the country on the condition that it will not allow its territory to be used against its neighbour.
In an interview to the Washington Post ahead of his state visit to the US, Singh said India has been a victim of Pakistan-aided terrorism, and intelligence reports still suggest that terrorists based in that country are planning attacks in India similar to last year's Mumbai carnage.
"Every day I receive intelligence reports saying that terrorists based in Pakistan are planning other similar acts," Singh said in the interview that would be carried in the daily's print edition on Sunday - the day of his arrival here.
He, however, asserted that Pakistan has "nothing to fear" from India, and it was a "tragedy" that Pakistan has come to the point of using terror "as an instrument of state policy".
"We are committed to resolve all the outstanding issues with Pakistan through bilateral negotiations. Our only condition is that Pakistan should not allow its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.
"If Pakistan really honours that commitment, we can go back to negotiation to resolve all outstanding issues between us," he said.
Noting that India has been a victim of "Pakistan-aided -abetted and -inspired terrorism for nearly 25 years," Singh said India wanted the US to use all its influence with Pakistan to ask it desist from that path.
Asked about actions being taken by Pakistan to bring to book those involved in the Mumbai terror attack, the Prime Minister said they have not done enough.
"As far as perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre are concerned, (Pakistan) has taken some steps but not enough," he said.
Singh also expressed concern about the rise of terrorism in Pakistan and said terrorists' increasing grip over several parts of the country was a threat to India's security as well.
"Now if the Taliban and al-Qaeda type of terror, which in the past was located in Pakistan's FATA, gets transferred to the mainland of Pakistan, I think it has very serious consequences for our own security," he said.
"We would not like terrorism to lead to a situation where civilian government is only a nominal government," he said.
Singh said there appears to be a mismatch between the US' and Pakistan's objectives in Afghanistan and observed that he does not see Islamabad fully committed to the war against terrorism.
"As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I am not sure whether the US and Pakistan have the same objectives," he said. While Pakistan, he said, would like the US to get out of Afghanistan soon, the US objectives are to get Pakistan to deal with the Taliban.
"Pakistan would like Afghanistan to be under its control... I don't see Pakistan wholeheartedly in support of action against the Taliban in Afghanistan," Singh told The Post in the interview posted on the daily's website.
"They are of course taking action against Taliban, but only when it threatens the supremacy of the army," he said.
Hoping that the US and the global community will stay involved in Afghanistan, Singh said a victory for the Taliban would have "catastrophic consequences" for the world, particularly for South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
"We (in India) of course have more immediate concerns. We are victims of terrorism and the extremist ideologies of the type that the Taliban represent. If this is not checked, this could destabilise our country," the Prime Minister said.
Responding to a question, Singh said al Qaeda and Taliban are chips off the same block.
Though he agreed that the regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is not perfect, he asked the international community to rally behind him now that he has been re-elected.
"President Karzai's regime is not perfect... But you cannot transform Afghanistan overnight. It is going to be a long-term affair. Democracy, as the West understands it, may not be introduced in a short period of time in Afghanistan," he said.
"But the very fact that millions of Afghan children, including millions of girls, are now in school, when none was in school when the Taliban was in power, shows some human freedom. One has to take a balanced view," he said.
Terming as "tragic" Pakistan's use of terror as state policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said India is ready to resolve all outstanding issues with the country on the condition that it will not allow its territory to be used against its neighbour.
In an interview to the Washington Post ahead of his state visit to the US, Singh said India has been a victim of Pakistan-aided terrorism, and intelligence reports still suggest that terrorists based in that country are planning attacks in India similar to last year's Mumbai carnage.
"Every day I receive intelligence reports saying that terrorists based in Pakistan are planning other similar acts," Singh said in the interview that would be carried in the daily's print edition on Sunday - the day of his arrival here.
He, however, asserted that Pakistan has "nothing to fear" from India, and it was a "tragedy" that Pakistan has come to the point of using terror "as an instrument of state policy".
"We are committed to resolve all the outstanding issues with Pakistan through bilateral negotiations. Our only condition is that Pakistan should not allow its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.
"If Pakistan really honours that commitment, we can go back to negotiation to resolve all outstanding issues between us," he said.
Noting that India has been a victim of "Pakistan-aided -abetted and -inspired terrorism for nearly 25 years," Singh said India wanted the US to use all its influence with Pakistan to ask it desist from that path.
Asked about actions being taken by Pakistan to bring to book those involved in the Mumbai terror attack, the Prime Minister said they have not done enough.
"As far as perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre are concerned, (Pakistan) has taken some steps but not enough," he said.
Singh also expressed concern about the rise of terrorism in Pakistan and said terrorists' increasing grip over several parts of the country was a threat to India's security as well.
"Now if the Taliban and al-Qaeda type of terror, which in the past was located in Pakistan's FATA, gets transferred to the mainland of Pakistan, I think it has very serious consequences for our own security," he said.
"We would not like terrorism to lead to a situation where civilian government is only a nominal government," he said.
Singh said there appears to be a mismatch between the US' and Pakistan's objectives in Afghanistan and observed that he does not see Islamabad fully committed to the war against terrorism.
"As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I am not sure whether the US and Pakistan have the same objectives," he said. While Pakistan, he said, would like the US to get out of Afghanistan soon, the US objectives are to get Pakistan to deal with the Taliban.
"Pakistan would like Afghanistan to be under its control... I don't see Pakistan wholeheartedly in support of action against the Taliban in Afghanistan," Singh told The Post in the interview posted on the daily's website.
"They are of course taking action against Taliban, but only when it threatens the supremacy of the army," he said.
Hoping that the US and the global community will stay involved in Afghanistan, Singh said a victory for the Taliban would have "catastrophic consequences" for the world, particularly for South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
"We (in India) of course have more immediate concerns. We are victims of terrorism and the extremist ideologies of the type that the Taliban represent. If this is not checked, this could destabilise our country," the Prime Minister said.
Responding to a question, Singh said al Qaeda and Taliban are chips off the same block.
Though he agreed that the regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is not perfect, he asked the international community to rally behind him now that he has been re-elected.
"President Karzai's regime is not perfect... But you cannot transform Afghanistan overnight. It is going to be a long-term affair. Democracy, as the West understands it, may not be introduced in a short period of time in Afghanistan," he said.
"But the very fact that millions of Afghan children, including millions of girls, are now in school, when none was in school when the Taliban was in power, shows some human freedom. One has to take a balanced view," he said.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Manmohan,Obama,Osama and Dawood among world's most powerful-Forbes
NEW YORK:
US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh find themselves in the unusual company of the world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden and fugitive Dawood Ibrahim in a list of the World's Most Powerful people compiled by Forbes.
Obama was named most powerful, while Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian PM Vladimir Putin complete the top three.
The list features three resident Indians - Singh and industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata, and two non-residents -- fugitive Dawood, and Lakshmi Mittal who lives in London and heads the world's largest steel company.
Singh has been ranked 36th, while the country's top corporate house Reliance Industries' chief Mukesh Ambani finds himself ranked 44th ahead of Tata Group chief Ratan Tata (59).
Ranked very next to Singh is al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden at 37th place, while Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is at 50th position.
Dawood, head of the infamous 'D-Company', is wanted by India in connection with the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and has been listed by the US as 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' for funding al-Qaeda.
Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11 terror strike on US, too has been eluding US-led multi-national armed forces.
Dalai Lama is ranked 39th and Pope Benedict-XVI 11th. The magazine took into consideration the influence of the person, whether they control relatively large financial resources compared with their peers and are they powerful in multiple spheres.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
