T N Ninan: Rice cooker

WEEKEND RUMINATIONS

Watching Rajdeep Sardesai interview Condoleeza Rice on NDTV, you got the sense of a visit to India by the American secretary of state that was not going very well.

She uttered that awful phrase "military balance" in the Indo-Pakistan context, would not come clean on the F-16 supply to Pakistan, and seemed to escape into obfuscating diplomatese instead of answering the questions put to her.

The next day's headlines in most newspapers""stressing differences on the proposed gas pipeline from Iran""once again suggested that the brief visit had emphasised the differences between the two countries.

Fortunately, the truth seems to be different. Rice's Indian interlocutors are perfectly happy with what transpired. While one will never get the full picture immediately after such a visit, it seems safe to suggest that India' s relations with the US are firmly on track and chugging along quite nicely.

Take the combined meaning of the US willingness to discuss the manufacture of F-16s (a nuclear delivery vehicle, if ever there was one) in India and the willingness also to cooperate in the civilian uses of nuclear energy.

The message can only be that the US now recognises and is willing to live with India as a nuclear power. There are the technicalities of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to be dealt with, but it does seem as though there is now a willingness to find some way around it.

And given that India is deficient in oil and gas, and does not have good-quality coal, a lot of its power requirements can come from nuclear energy""especially after the latest Tarapur unit has reportedly demonstrated that it can deliver power for as little as Rs 1.67 per unit.

Take even the supposed differences over the Iran gas pipeline. Rice was quite clear in saying that while the US has its preferences on how the world should deal with Iran, it understands India's rapidly growing energy needs and India's desire to tie up new energy sources. Indeed, she offered American help in the energy field. The message is not one of conflict but cooperation and mutual accommodation.

On a Security Council seat for India, the message was more mixed. It is clear that the US is not yet convinced that having India at the Security Council table is going to be an advantage for the US""and since India seeks an independent foreign policy, it may remain that way for some time.

However, Rice was also quite clear in enunciating the position that the US sees India as an emerging power that must be factored into various calculations""and saw evidence of this in the capability that India demonstrated by mobilising relief ships for neighbouring countries within 24 hours of the tsunami. Since no imminent re-casting of the Security Council is on the cards, this is good enough for the time being.

Recognition of military capability and a willingness to help develop it further, acceptance of India's nuclear status and cooperation in energy""all three are big ticket items and suggest that things are going quite well between the two countries.

We do not yet know the depth of the strategic relationship that is being developed, since by their very nature such issues are classified, but the general air suggests mutual satisfaction.

What has not attracted much notice is the fact that the two countries agreed on an open skies policy some three months ago. This means that Indian and American airlines can fly into each other's territory without restrictions, and indeed fly within each other's domestic territory as well if they so choose.

There is today no non-stop air service between India and the US, but one will start soon and more will follow. As air fares drop, wait for the tourist traffic to pick up in both directions.

India's growing clout as a market will begin to make a difference in other ways. If the country's civilian air fleet is going to grow from 175 planes to 400 in short order, a lot of those planes are going to be made in the US and that means jobs.

The short point would seem to be that while the two countries may not share perspectives on Pakistan (whether it is F-16s, terrorism or anything else), there is much more to the relationship now because it is gaining both depth and breadth.