Almost six months after his installation as Secretary of State and more than a dozen visits to the turbulent Middle East, as well as to other parts of the globe, John Kerry is coming to India – the country that was supposed to be the “lynchpin” of US’ Asian strategy.
The visit is framed by three elements. First, it is difficult not to notice that his visit, as did that of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, rehyphenate India and Pakistan, with back-to-back visits. Second, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s domestic political preoccupations make it a moot question whether India itself is in a position to make substantive progress in a largely stalled bilateral relationship. Finally, the remaking of the Asian region currently underway, certainly demands close India-US consultation.