Asia-Pacific economic relations are complex and complicated affairs. However, with the growing inter-links of the countries in this region, there are more chances for them to come into some sort of trade agreement. In this context, President Obama’s recent visit to India is significant because this Asian country has been a major trading partner of the US for the past many years now and because of the increasingly dynamic economy and potential to open up a lot of options for foreign businesses in India, the President is in a mood of pursuing his “Look beyond the Bets” agenda.
The first point that we need to take note of is the fact that President Obama took this trip not only to India but also to China, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and Russia as well. This indicates that the US President is sending a message of friendship to each of these countries. On the other hand, India was another important neighbor and economic partner of the US and so, President Obama’s visit generated great interest and concern from the Indian government as well. There was a lot of media hype in India about the US President visiting India and being in a mood of “compromise” with their government on the disputed territories of Jammu & Kashmir.
However, the recent developments in this country show that President Obama is determined not to yield to India on this issue. On the other hand, the Japanese government expressed deep concern over the deteriorating diplomatic scenario in northeast India. They too expressed hope that President Obama will use his charm to persuade New Delhi to take a difficult stand on the issue. Besides this, the new government in Thailand is very keen to improve bilateral ties with the US and also wants to see the Thais become a major partner in economic cooperation with the US.