Former deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration Strobe Talbott said he had recently been in China -- a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group -- and noted that while Beijing "is picking their words very, very carefully, I got the distinct impression that the Chinese are reserving the right in the NSG to raise the question on whether there should be a country-specific arrangement or whether there should be some other channel or specific language attached to the NSG's approval of the US-India nuclear deal that would permit China to look out for its client, Pakistan."
Talbott appeared with former Indian external affairs minister Jaswant Singh at an event titled 'A Consequential India-US Engagement' which was hosted by the South Asia Studies Program of the South Asia Studies Program of the Johns Hopkins University, and moderated by the acting director of the program Walter Andersen.
"This is to say that this is one more dimension of the way this thing (N-deal) is going to go on and on and on with a lot of ups and downs both in Washington and Delhi among the people who are following it closely, which is a lot of people," he said.
Talbott also said that there has certainly "been a degree of over-hyping on both sides, and there has been an unhealthy gyration in both mood and expectations and it's been apparent to me as a regular visitor to India."
He recalled that "in the immediate wake, for example, both the prime minister's ( Manmohan Singh) visit here and President Bush's visit to India, there was something close to euphoria, but that seems to -- at least when I was last there a month or so ago -- have largely dissipated, and it's a little bit like passing through the looking glass in some ways because there's still so much focus on the nuclear deal that what was originally perceived in India as a great triumph of India's diplomacy was all of a sudden perceived or at least criticised as a terrible give away by the Manmohan Singh government -- that the Americans had somehow had their way with India in this deal, which is so bizarre to those of us who follow the debate from the American side."
Talbott also took a swipe, saying, "And, I haven't heard that phrase natural allies used for a while."
He also said that "it was certainly noticed in this town and in officials circles that when Dr Singh came to this hemisphere, it was to go to Havana, to the Non Aligned Summit, where he played a very constructive role, by the way, in diluting what would have otherwise been really very obnoxious anti-American sentiments on the communiqué."
However, Talbott said, "One has the sense that had he wanted it, he (Manmohan Singh) could have struck around elsewhere in the hemisphere and perhaps had a chance to meet with President Bush. So there's a sense -- at least in Washington, which I associate myself with -- that the prime minister is making if not fundamental, at least strategic adjustments away from the idea of natural alliance, definitely some tactical adjustments to attempt to deal with this volatility in the mood on the Indian side."
"And, as for the American side, there's some volatility there too," he added.
Talbott also said he worries about the Iran issue, saying as it continues to heat up "and there's every expectation that it will and becomes contentious in some sense in US-India relations and if India doesn't seem to give support to the United States as we would want, there is going to be a lot of people in this town, who would say, 'Hey, wait a minute. We just passed this great deal for you -- we're natural allies, what about that?'"
