03 May 2000
U.S. Hopeful for New Relationship with India, Berger Says
(White House official discusses Asian issues) (760) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent New York -- President Clinton's recent visit to India gave hope that the United States and India can develop a new relationship based on mutual respect and partnership, according to Samuel Berger, assistant to the president for national security affairs. "What the president did in India was to change the terms of reference of our relationship with India," Berger said May 2. Clinton "was very straightforward and candid about his concerns about the nuclear program, his concerns about seeking a military solution in Kashmir as opposed to a peaceful solution. But he also said that we are natural allies." If the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy "don't have a natural affinity, something is terribly wrong," he said. Berger commented on the president's March visit to South Asia during a presentation at The East Asian Institute of Columbia University where he argued for the U.S. giving China permanent normal trade relations status and supporting Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The reaction of the Indian people "was overwhelming ... a really quite enormous outpouring," Berger said. He interpreted that response as an indication that "the Indians are ready for a new relationship with the United States based on respect, based on mutuality, based on partnership. Not based on a one-way street." "Now we need to do this in a way that recognizes the balance in south Asia," Berger said. Clinton went to Pakistan as well despite the government coup, because he "felt that it was important that we not bypass Pakistan, that we maintain a channel to the Pakistani Government," the White House official said. "He went there; he spoke directly to the Pakistani people on nationwide television. He said, essentially, you are on the wrong course," Berger explained. "We're your friends, you've got to figure out how to get back to democracy. You can stop thinking you can win a war in Kashmir and start investing in your own country." "It was rather bracing for the Pakistanis but I think they respected the president's forthrightness. We now have to build on that," he said. The Indian and Pakistani visits make the "argument for engagement as opposed to isolation. Those who say we can change China by isolating China or change China by isolating ourselves from China are on the wrong side of history," Berger said. "We should have no illusions, we should have open eyes," he said. "We can deal with the stress as well as the opportunities far better" by dealing with those countries directly rather than by "turning our back." Discussing the upcoming Congressional vote on permanent normal trade relations status (PNTR), Berger said, "the Chinese Government and the Chinese people will have a difficult time understanding why we rejected PNTR." "They realize this is a one-way economic deal. These are reforms we have been urging them to make for 20 or 30 years. They have now made them at some risk internally and suddenly we'd be saying we reject this, we don't want to engage with you. That would significantly weaken those who have been identified with WTO, market opening, market reform in China," he said. A vote against PNTR "would strengthen those who have said cooperating with the United States is a mistake," the White House official said. If the trade status was rejected, Berger said, he believes that the United States "would have less ability to cooperate with China." "I do believe our ability to be a stabilizing influence across the Taiwan Straits would be diminished. I do believe that our allies in Asia would see a U.S.-China confrontation in the making and would begin to reposition themselves into a somewhat more guarded posture," he said. "Bringing China into the global system ... initially economically and otherwise, will have a stabilizing rather than a destabilizing influence," Berger said. "There are a number of threats to security and stability in Asia," he said. The United States' objective "is to try to be a stabilizing influence so that no power, whether it is China or otherwise, feels that it militarily or otherwise can gain an advantage through use of force. The perception of that will set a chain reaction off with other nations, Japan, Korea and others in destabilizing the arms race." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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