Abstract
The long record of U.S. strategic engagement in South Asia can be classified in three phases. First phase contains the Cold War period, second deals with the post–Cold War era and third segment is related to the post-9/11 years. The U.S. interests in South Asia always mainly rested upon stability of the region. Exerting predominantly the U.S. policy in South Asia on U.S.-Pakistan-India triangular relationship, the Americans realized that divided and security deficit region by deepening hostility between India and Pakistan, could have never been suitable for their purposes. During the Cold War in 1950s, the U.S. intensions to put together a non- communist military coalition in Asia were supported by Pakistan while India sternly opposed the idea. Pakistan became a part of the U.S. plan in the West and East Asia regions. Pakistan joined the U.S.- sponsored military arrangements and faced severe criticism, mainly from India and Soviet Union. The Americans were pleased over Pakistan’s joining of anti-communist strategic coalition but India’s decline to the U.S. strategic agenda for South Asia had depressed them. The U.S. policy was not to deal with the security matters of Pakistan only, but it coped with the overall security of the South Asian region. United States wanted support from both India and Pakistan to its security plans. The U.S. policy makers had visualized that the military counterweight against communist forces in Asia could not become effective until South Asia region resolved its conflicts, especially those between India and Pakistan. So the Indian factor was never excluded from the Washington’s strategic plans in South Asia. Accordingly the Indian factor was also not absent in U.S.-Pakistan relations. Since the Cold War ended, the US-India relationship got a new momentum and rapidly both countries are charting new course of balance of power for containment of China. This paper explores approaches and ramifications of US-India strategic partnership.
Ahmad Ejaz. (2016) United State-India Strategic partnership: A new course in the Asian balance-of-power politics, Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Volume 29, Issue 2.
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