Month: February 2011

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India, China and Japan

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer and Vibhuti Haté on India’s economic relations with China and Japan.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to India in November 2006, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan in December 2006, underline India’s increasing economic and political prominence in Asia. India’s economic relations with China are developing faster than those with Japan. Its strategic connections with Japan are stronger, and lack the undercurrent of rivalry that marks those with China. India is interested in playing a larger role on the broader Asian scene, but at the moment has only a small place in the institutional infrastructure for Asian cooperation. These three countries’ economic and strategic interests, along with those of the United States, come together in the Indian Ocean. That is where the effort to create a peaceful path for the rise of China and India will be tested.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on January 3, 2007. Read the entire article.

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The Bush Visit and the Nuclear Deal

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer and Pramit Mitra on the implications of the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Agreement.

After a jubilant visit by President George W. Bush to Delhi and stops in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the spotlight has turned to Capitol Hill. Legislation to amend the 1954 U.S. Atomic Energy Act to allow the president to go ahead with the recently concluded U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Agreement was introduced in both houses of Congress on March 16, 2006. Administration officials are optimistic that it will pass, though they recognize that this will take hard work and the process will be complicated. If the Bush administration succeeds, however, the agreement could provide a major boost to U.S.-India bilateral relations and change the priorities and operation of the nonproliferation regime.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on April 3, 2006. Read the entire article.

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Engaging India: The U.S. Role in India’s Fight against HIV/AIDS

A report by Teresita C. Schaffer and Pramit Mitra on the Task Force on HIV/AIDS, as directed by the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is both a major international issue for the United States and one of the most serious questions hanging over India’s future, extending beyond public health into India’s economic and social prospects. Since 1986, when the first case was reported in India, HIV has spread rapidly from urban to rural areas and from high-risk groups to the general population.

Originally published by CSIS on June 1, 2005. View the entire report, or the annotated version.

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India and Pakistan—Still Moving Forward

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer on peace developments between India and Pakistan.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh’s decision to host a dinner on September 14 in New York for Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf made headlines, but the event did not provide the same visible boost for the peace process as their 2004 meeting. However, their dialogue is still moving ahead. The most encouraging development in the past six months is the start of discussions between Kashmiris and the governments of both India and Pakistan. There has been modest progress on the rest of the India-Pakistan agenda. These developments provide a backdrop for quiet diplomacy. A few missteps along the way are inevitable, but the two national leaders are learning about one another’s sensitivities and taking the process seriously.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on October 1, 2005. Read the entire article.

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India, Pakistan and Kashmir: Of Buses and People

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer on India’s and Pakistan’s decision to start a bus service between the separated parts of Kashmir, and the resulting rejuvenated peace talks between the countries.

The agreement on the basic arrangements for starting bus service between Srinagar, capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, and Muzaffarabad, capital of the Pakistan-administered part, came as a badly needed tonic to an India-Pakistan dialogue that was in danger of petering out. The agreement balanced the needs of both sides. Pakistan got its way on the knotty question of travel documents: rather than passports and visas, travelers will carry entry permits, to be issued within each side’s part of Kashmir and apparently approved by the other side. India succeeded in opening travel to all citizens, rather than restricting it to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on April 1, 2005. Read the entire article.