Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07NEWDELHI1328
2007-03-19 13:39:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:  

PRIME MINISTER WARM ON U.S.-INDIA-JAPAN TRILATERAL

Tags:  PREL PGOV KDEM IN JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001328 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IN JA
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER WARM ON U.S.-INDIA-JAPAN TRILATERAL
DIALOGUE; INDIAN SPEAKER CIRCUIT ALSO SUPPORTIVE


Classified By: CDA Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001328

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IN JA
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER WARM ON U.S.-INDIA-JAPAN TRILATERAL
DIALOGUE; INDIAN SPEAKER CIRCUIT ALSO SUPPORTIVE


Classified By: CDA Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary. PM Singh told Ashley Tellis he hoped a
U.S.-India-Japan trilateral dialogue could become official at
the Foreign Secretary level. The PM's comment seems to
reflect a fairly broad sentiment in New Delhi, as recent
public speakers have come out in support of closer trilateral
ties. End Summary.

-------------- Singh To Tellis: Support For Trilats At FS Level --------------


2. (C) In his report to Emboffs on his private meeting with
PM Singh on March 9, Ashley Tellis - in New Delhi to speak at
the "Japan-India Strategic Partnership in the era of Asia
Regional Integration" symposium sponsored by the Government
of Japan and the Confederation of Indian Industry - described
the Prime Minister as "very enthusiastic" in his support for
U.S.-India-Japan trilateral dialogue. PM Singh described to
Tellis his conversations with PM Abe, and said he hoped the
trilateral dialogue could become official at the Foreign
Secretary level. As we understand, Singh pointedly did not

SIPDIS
dwell on the substantive content of this trilateral dialogue.


-------------- Tellis Makes The Case --------------


3. (SBU) In addition to the Prime Minister, others on New
Delhi's speaker circuit have come out within the last month
in support of closer trilateral cooperation. In his remarks
at the symposium described above, Tellis described why
trilateral cooperation is desirable, why it is not, and what
it can achieve. Calling Asia the new center of gravity in
international politics, Tellis argued that trilateral
cooperation would permit Asia's most important states that
share values and common interests to shape the future of the
continent in a way that protects and expands the Asian
miracle; demonstrates that a diverse variety of partnerships
and coalitions based on commonality of values and interests
remains the best instrument for solving global problems; and
creates the nucleus of cooperative arrangements that could
evolve into a larger architecture for preserving peace, order

and stability in Asia. However, he explained, trilateral
cooperation should not be an a priori device for containing
China, even though if successful it will have the objective
consequence of shaping the strategic environment in ways that
propel China to evolve in constructive directions. The
trilat could not be a substitute for existing U.S. alliances,
nor an instrument to subvert existing multilateral
institutions, but if successful will be a stimulus that prods
existing institutions to become more responsive in solving
regional and global problems, he said. Trilateral
cooperation can reconcile approaches to cope with global
problems, such as developing a new nonproliferation
consensus, or technical and institutional solutions to
increased energy and raw material demands. It could also
provide a means for coordinating strategic responses to
critical emerging problems of Asian security that are vital
to all three countries, such as protecting sea lanes of
communication in the Indian Ocean or protecting space assets
for defense and development. Finally, he argued, it could
synchronize strategies to procure optimal outcomes within the

NEW DELHI 00001328 002 OF 003


greater South Asia region, such as structuring economic
assistance to secure desirable political outcomes, assist
civil society and build institutions in support of democracy,
or increase joint U.S.-Japanese-Indian research and
development in key areas of mutual benefit including defense.

-------------- Japanese and Indian speakers extol virtues of a tighter
relationship -- including with the U.S. --------------


4. (SBU) At the same symposium, Japanese Vice Foreign
Minister Katsuhito Asano described FM Aso's vision of an "arc
of freedom and prosperity along the outer rim of the Eurasian
continent." At the center of that arc, India plays a pivotal
role, according to Asano, in spreading freedom, democracy and
prosperity. Asano and JICA President Sadako Ogata described
the purposes of Japan's $2 billion ODA program for India, and
stressed the significance of a future Japan-India Economic
Partnership Agreement. Keio University professor Yoshihide
Soeya maintained that close relations with India would aid
U.S. and Japanese efforts "to hedge against an assertive
China in the long run."


5. (SBU) India speakers struck many of the same themes.
Former Foreign Secretary Amb. M.K. Rasgotra argued that, to
avoid repeating Europe's history of centuries of warfare, the
five great Asian powers (U.S., China, India, Japan and
Russia) must seek a sustainable equilibrium, adding that the
U.S. should be part of every major regional institution: EAS,
SAARC, ASEAN. Rasgotra and Minister of State for Industry
Ashwani Kumar outlined key areas for U.S.-Japan-India
collaboration: protection of sea lanes (with a focus on the
India Ocean's stability and security); energy security; and
counter-terrorism.

-------------- Joshi Alters His View --------------


6. (C) Dr. Manoj Joshi, Strategic Affairs Editor of the
Hindustan Times, who in October told Poloff he was skeptical
of the benefits of a U.S.-India-Japan dialogue, wrote an
editorial in the March 14 edition of The Mint entitled "Why
India-Japan-US Alliance Makes Sense." Noting that India and
Japan are moving to formalize strategic talks when Foreign
Minister Mukherjee travels to Tokyo in late March, Joshi said
the move for greater Japan-U.S.-India cooperation is seen as
a concert of like-minded states which swear by democracy,
secular values and the free market economy. The "churning
process," as he describes changes in Asia's political arena,
is not only occasioned by the rise of China, but also by
Japan's new assertiveness in Asia. Quoting National Security
Council advisory board chairman Rasgotra, Joshi noted that
India is unlikely to participate in any alliance system, and
characterized U.S.-India-Japan cooperation as necessary for
maintaining political, economic and military equilibrium in
Asia.

-------------- Indian Army Seminar Seeks Balance Of Power In Asia --------------


7. (C) At a seminar in late February put on by the Indian
Army's Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a few critics of
America's perceived dominance in Asia supported an Indian
foreign policy which would hedge against China's rise.

NEW DELHI 00001328 003 OF 003


Ambassador Prakash Shah called on India to bring the United
States into a multipolar Asia, to include not only greater
cooperation with Japan, but also with China. At the same
seminar, Professor S.D. Muni, former Indian Ambassador to
Laos, rebuked the remarks of Seema Mustafa, who singularly
focused on the costs of India,s strategic alliance with the
U.S., arguing for a fair review of its benefits as well.
Muni urged the audience to objectively consider India's
cooperation with Japan and the U.S., while cautioning against
India,s entanglement in any architecture that seeks to
contain China. C. Raja Mohan, in his keynote address, also
urged greater trilateral cooperation, but within the context
of India's future relations with China, which he
characterized as inevitably involving a security dilemma.
Raja underlined that "the military establishments of India,
Japan, and China must engage in an honest, far-reaching
dialogue to prevent conflict," adding "China's continued
expansion in the neighborhood cannot be glossed over by
diplomats."
PYATT