Donald Trump unnerves Asia but India could forge closer US ties

WASHINGTON: Some Asian nations are watching anxiously as Donald Trump prepares to take up the presidency, but for at least one major power in the region, India, the changing of the guard in Washington could strengthen ties.nnDuring a brutal election campaign, where Trump’s rhetoric on foreign partners was overwhelmingly negative, he was largely positive about India, or at least its Hindu majority, and its nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.nnWhen he courted Indian-American voters at a rally in New Jersey in mid-October, he said, “There won’t be any relationship more important to us.” He praised Modi, another populist, savvy in using social media, as a “great man” for championing bureaucratic reforms and economic growth.nnThere are other hints that Trump is well-disposed toward India.nnHe has done a lot of business there. A Washington Post analysis of Trump’s pre-election financial disclosure found that of his 111 international business deals, the highest number, 16, were in India. He stirred controversy last week over potential conflicts of interest by meeting with three Indian business partners who are building a Trump-branded luxury apartment complex in the city of Pune.nnOn Wednesday he selected South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants, to be US ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman tapped for a Cabinet-level post in his administration. Haley has no foreign policy experience.nnIt remains a matter of conjecture how any of this will shape the approach taken by a Trump administration when he takes office Jan 20. But Lisa Curtis at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank said it was “easy to envision” the US and India working closer on counter-terrorism.nnIndia hopes that Trump’s promise to fight radical Islamic militants will mean more American pressure on Pakistan and less aid for India’s historic arch rival. Militants based in Pakistan are accused of launching cross-border attacks inside India.nnNeelam Deo, who heads the Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House, said India would also welcome it if Trump builds a working relationship with Russia in fighting the Islamic State group.nnBut Deo predicted US-India friction if Trump restricts non-immigrant visas for Indians to try to protect American workers. She said that 60 percent of India’s information technology experts who work abroad go to the US.nnBiswajit Dhar, an economics professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said that how Trump approaches immigration is a major concern in India and tough action “is going to rattle quite a lot here.”nnLalit Mansingh, a former Indian ambassador to the US, said reactions in India to Trump’s election victory have ranged from vocal support from right-wingers to shock and disappointment among the liberal intelligentsia. He said people had noticed that Trump had attended election campaign events with Hindus rather than the broader Indian-American community.nnIndia is 80 per cent Hindu, but 14 per cent of its 1.3 billion people are Muslims.nnUS-India relations have advanced under President Barack Obama, particularly since Modi’s election in 2014. When Modi addressed Congress this June, he described the US as an “indispensable partner” and said together they could anchor stability and prosperity from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.nnStaunch US allies like Japan and South Korea, which host American forces and depend on US nuclear deterrence, have been unnerved by Trump’s call for nations to shoulder more of the burden for security in Asia.nnBut that is less of a concern for India, which is not a formal ally of the US It has expanded its military cooperation with Washington and purchased American hardware as it modernizes its armed forces. But it prizes having an independent foreign policy, as it did during the Cold War.nnSource: AP