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'India has become the target of US, China and Pak'

The United States, often giving precedence to economic matters in its dealings with China, has all along ignored the Sino-Pakistan nuclear and missile co-operation while making India one of the target countries, says a security expert.

''Currently Washington is following a policy of intense re-engagement of China and constructive engagement of Pakistan,'' writes Dr Chintamani Mahapatra in the latest issue of Strategic Analysis, published by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.

The Chinese economy has come a long way since the economic reforms started in 1978 with the total trade turnover increasing from nearly $ 30 billion in that year to $ 230 billion.

The figure could go up if Hong Kong's trade was added. ''One need not expect the US to override its economic interests by quarrelling with China over its missile co-operation with Pakistan... Token sanctions without the teeth to bite are imposed for legal purposes and domestic consumption,'' he says.

The China factor must enter any Indo-US strategic dialogue and Pakistan must become a crucial factor in any efforts aimed at enhancing the Sino-Indian confidence-building measures, he suggests.

The author feels what could be more worrisome for India is the rising defence ties between the Washington and Beijing.

Referring to China's supply of weapons of mass destruction-related goods and technology to foreign countries including Pakistan, the IDSA research fellow points out that Beijing is the primary source of nuclear-related equipment and technology to Islamabad.

Pakistan's acquisitions of missiles in recent years included the M-11 missiles, the M-9 and the recently test-fired Ghauri with a range of 1,500 km.

Noting a policy shift of the Clinton administration towards Pakistan, he says the passage of the Brown Amendment is a clear instance of this shift from one of punitive action against proliferation to constructive engagement.

In this regard, he cites the US deciding to restore International Military Education and Training programme for Pakistan, denied in the wake of Pressler Amendment's implementation in 1990.

Pointing out Washington's duplicity, Dr Mahapatra says the US has been following a selective and discriminatory policy on proliferation matters. ''One can compare the US imposition of sanctions against the Indian Space Research Organisation and space agency of Russia, Glavcosmos with the US position on the M-11 missile deal between China and Pakistan.

''The US has been seeking Chinese assistance to meet the proliferation challenges in South Asia without bothering about Sino-Pak collusion in the same field. All this implies that India has become the target of the US, China and Pakistan,'' he concludes and stresses that New Delhi should have its own broad-based dynamics of security logic, not country or programme-specific.''

UNI

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