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Some Asian nations are watching anxiously as Donald Trump prepares to
take up the presidency, but for at least one major power in the region,
India, the changing of the guard in Washington could strengthen ties.
During a brutal election campaign, where Trump's
rhetoric on foreign partners was overwhelmingly negative, he was largely
positive about India -- or at least its Hindu majority -- and its
nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi.
When Trump courted Indian-American voters at a rally
in New Jersey in mid-October, he said, "There won't be any relationship
more important to us." He praised Modi -- another populist who is savvy
in using social media -- as a "great man" for championing bureaucratic
reforms and economic growth.
There are other hints that Trump is well-disposed toward India.
He has done a lot of business there. A Washington
Post analysis of Trump's pre-election financial disclosure found that of
his 111 international business deals, the highest number -- 16 -- were
in India. He stirred controversy last week over potential conflicts of
interest by meeting with three Indian business partners who are building
a Trump-branded luxury apartment complex in the city of Pune.
On Wednesday he selected South Carolina Gov. Nikki
Haley, the daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants, to be U.S. ambassador to
the United Nations -- the first woman tapped for a Cabinet-level post in
his administration. Haley has no foreign policy experience.
It remains a matter of conjecture how any of this
will shape the approach taken by a Trump administration when he takes
office Jan. 20. But Lisa Curtis at the conservative Heritage Foundation
think tank said it was "easy to envision" the U.S. and India working
closer on counter-terrorism.
India hopes that Trump's promise to fight radical
Islamic militants will mean more American pressure on Pakistan and less
aid for India's historic archrival. Militants based in Pakistan are
accused of launching cross-border attacks inside India.
Neelam Deo, who heads the Mumbai-based think tank
Gateway House, said India would also welcome it if Trump builds a
working relationship with Russia in fighting the Islamic State group.
But Deo predicted U.S.-India friction if Trump
restricts non-immigrant visas for Indians to try to protect American
workers. She said that 60 percent of India's information technology
experts who work abroad go to the U.S.
Biswajit Dhar, an economics professor at Jawaharlal
Nehru University in New Delhi, said that how Trump approaches
immigration is a major concern in India and tough action "is going to
rattle quite a lot here."
Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian ambassador to the
U.S., said reactions in India to Trump's election victory have ranged
from vocal support from right-wingers to shock and disappointment among
the liberal intelligentsia. He said people had noticed that Trump had
attended election campaign events with Hindus rather than the broader
Indian-American community.
India is 80 percent Hindu, but 14 percent of its 1.3 billion people are Muslims.
U.S.-India relations have advanced under President
Barack Obama, particularly since Modi's election in 2014. When Modi
addressed Congress this June, he described the U.S. as an "indispensable
partner" and said together they could anchor stability and prosperity
from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
Staunch U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea, which
host American forces and depend on U.S. nuclear deterrence, have been
unnerved by Trump's call for nations to shoulder more of the burden for
security in Asia.
But that is less of a concern for India, which is not
a formal ally of the U.S. It has expanded its military cooperation with
Washington and purchased American hardware as it modernizes its armed
forces. But it prizes having an independent foreign policy, as it did
during the Cold War.
"India's interest in taking on a larger role fits in
with Mr. Trump's view of U.S. friends and partners doing more in their
own regions," said C. Raja Mohan, director of the Carnegie India think
tank.
Trump plans to take an ax to the main economic
element of Obama's Asia policy -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said
this week that he will end U.S. participation in the 12-nation trade
pact. India is not involved in the agreement.
But India would be concerned if Trump adopted an isolationist stance and dialed back the U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific.
"India is worried about China's dominance in this region," Dhar said.