Days after a visit by Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met several senior officials in the Donald Trump administration during a four-day visit to Washington last week. These included US Defence Secretary Gen.(retd) James Mattis, Secretary of Homeland Security Gen. (retd) John Kelly, National Security Advisor Lt Gen. H R McMaster and two powerful Senators John McCain and Richard Burr.
Officially, these were described as courtesy calls aimed at reaffirming the growing bilateral ties. But sources in both the US and India said the meetings mostly revolved around countering terror, defence partnerships, the security situation in Afghanistan and South Asia as well as maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. According to insiders, issues like demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax also figured in some of the discussions, and while there was no specific discussion on Pakistan, Indian’s recalcitrant neighbour did figure in the context of terrorism in the region.
After their meeting on Friday, a US official said Doval and his US counterpart McMaster pledged to “combat the full spectrum of terrorist threats”. General Mattis, who hosted Doval at the Pentagon on Thursday, is reported to have applauded India’s efforts to promote stability and uphold international laws and principles in South Asia. Doval’s visit assumes significance because despite the apparent bonhomie, India is reluctant to accede to two repeated US requests: One, to send troops to Afghanistan, and two, to agree to joint naval patrolling of the South China Seas. It does not want Afghanistan to become a proxy battleground for the India-Pakistan rivalry, although it does train Afghan officers. Similarly, although India does have maritime trade and other concerns like offshore mining projects with Vietnam, it does not want to get directly involved in what is essentially a face-off between the US and China.