Trump-Modi visit a boon to relations, global security
President Donald Trump’s India visit Feb. 24-25 was significant, bilaterally and globally. The U.S. and India emphasized their shared democratic values, signed a defense deal worth $3 billion and deliberated on finalizing a trade deal. The emphasis on global peace and security and their cooperation to realize this, however, stood out as most striking during the visit.
Trump emphasized the U.S. role in decimating ISIS, Qasem Soleimani, and Al Qaeda leader Hamza bin Laden. The impact of international terror networks is felt worldwide including the U.S. and India. The use of information technology and social media have widened their reach.
Whether it was the Sept. 11, 2001, attack in New York, the Mumbai terror attack in 2008 or the recent stabbings in London and other cities, the terror networks have penetrated locally with global connections.
Many of these networks have bases in the South Asian region, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As Trump emphasized, the U.S. is working with Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan to broker a lasting peace deal. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the first time, talked about strengthening cooperation in homeland security, an increasing concern worldwide.
The Kashmir territorial conflict is a sore point in regional peace and stability efforts. While initially a local movement, global terror networks including Al Qaeda and ISIS later became bigger players in the dispute.
While doing research in the volatile region in 2014-15, I came across ISIS flags in the Kashmir valley. Though ISIS is now almost dead, several other terrorist organizations are thriving in the AfghanistanPakistan region. The attacker on the London Bridge in November 2019 was trained in Pakistan.
There is also a fear that some of these terrorist organizations might infiltrate Pakistan’s nuclear facilities and steal nuclear secrets to make dirty bombs. Besides
Islamic terrorism, other common issues of concern, such as drug trafficking and organized crime, figured in this week’s talks between Trump and Modi.
Bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region — the region starting from India to the Pacific Rim — appeared prominently during the deliberation. Both the leaders emphasized the stakes involved in the region and the need for cooperation. The joint U.S.-India military exercise in November 2019, the largely humanitarian mission called “Tiger Triumph,” had aimed at strengthening their capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region.
Trump and Modi also agreed to enhance cooperation through the existing dialogue between the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia. All of these countries are wary of Chinese assertiveness — China’s proclaimed “peaceful rise” has not been that peaceful, as turmoil in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and as the situation in the South China Sea have demonstrated.
Whether it was Mark Twain’s astonishment during his visit to the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century; David Thoreau’s enchantment with India’s spiritual heritage; or Einstein’s eulogy of Gandhi, American-Indian relations have always been imbued with a deeper meaning and significance.
Nikki Haley, the Indian-American Republican politician, rightly notes, “The U.S. and India are the two largest democracies in the world and share many values. There is much to be gained by the friendship of Modi and Trump.”
The bonhomie shared by Trump and Modi has the potential to bring the two countries closer. Importantly, the emphasis that relations are, as Modi said, “people-driven, people-centric,” not solely driven by geostrategy, elevates the relations to a new level.
In the complex 21st-century globalized world, characterized by turbulence, the shared values have to be translated into dynamic policy to realize global peace and security. The Trump visit could be considered a step in this regard.