Swamy: India should serve US interests to get support

India should be prepared to serve American interests if it expects to receive help from the USA, Dr Subramanian Swamy, BJP Rajya Sabha member, has said. Addressing a virtual session on Indo-US relations organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), TS and AP branch, Dr Swamy on Thursday evening, said the US works on a culture of give and take. “There is no rationale or emotions involved. It is as simple as a transaction,” Dr Swamy said.

Dr Swamy narrated how he had negotiated with the US in 1991 for a $ 2 billion support to bail India out from a foreign exchange crisis in exchange for “our support to the Americans’ effort to liberate Kuwait.” The bottom line, he said, is that India should be “ready to pay the price to the US to get what we want from them.”

On the current stand-off with China, Dr Swamy said India cannot afford to have a repeat of its isolation in 1962 conflict with China. “The US didn’t support us. Though we bonded well with the USSR, it didn’t support us saying

India is our friend, but China is our brother. So, we need US’ friendship,” Dr Swamy said.

He said the US had previously offered to upgrade India’s defence equipment in return to India sending

20,000 troops to Afghanistan. “India must be ready to tell America what it can offer and what we could get from them,” he said.

He said India and US joint naval exercises can deter China as China relies heavily on sea routes for its exports. If India continues to record

10 per cent growth rate for

10 years, then it can beat China as an economic power and bodies such as the IACC can create an atmosphere to get some benefits from the US, he said.

THE GOVERNMENT On the current stand-off with China, Dr Swamy said India cannot afford to have a repeat of its isolation in 1962 conflict with China.