In US NSA John Bolton’s sacking, New Delhi loses a key ally
Bolton supported ’India’s right to self-defence against cross-border terrorism’Aghanistan is another area where the views of India and Bolton seemed aligned
NEW DELHI : It is unsure how many friends John Bolton made in his 18-month-long tenure as US national security adviser (NSA), but India is one country that will be sorry to see him go.
This wasn’t always the case: A quick internet search shows “hawkish" and “abrasive" are the most common adjectives used to describe the 70-year-old Bolton. Indeed, India did get a taste of Bolton’s “hawkishness" when, as US ambassador to the UN (August 2005 to December 2006), Bolton joined hands with his Chinese counterpart to oppose India’s bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council. Bolton was also sceptical about the India-US nuclear deal at one point, according to news reports.
It was during his term as US NSA, beginning March 2018, that India found in him a person it could do business with. Media reports say that Bolton and Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval got along “quite well" during Bolton’s term in office.
Pakistan was one issue the two NSAs saw eye to eye on. India has been spotlighting the support given by Pakistan to anti-India terrorist groups in Kashmir. And the US has taken note of Pakistan’s support for such groups operating in Afghanistan and against India.
According to a statement put out by the ministry of external affairs, Bolton supported “India’s right to self-defence against cross-border terrorism" and “offered all assistance to India to bring the perpetrators and backers of the (14 February Pulwama suicide) attack promptly to justice" was much appreciated in New Delhi.
A summary of a phone conversation between Doval and Bolton two days after the Pulwama attack, issued by the Indian side, said the two “vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe haven for JeM (Jaish-e- Mohammed) and terrorist groups that target India, the US and others in the region."
“They resolved to hold Pakistan to account for its obligations under UN resolutions and to remove all obstacles to designating JeM leader Masood Azhar as a global terrorist under the UN Security Council," it added.
It was mainly due to the US and French support that India subsequently managed to get Azhar blacklisted under UN Security Council norms in May. There can be speculation as to how much of this support was due to Trump’s views on Pakistan and how much of it can be attributed to Bolton, but the view among Indian officials in New Delhi is that the “(Trump) administration has walked the talk on Pakistan and its support for terrorism"—that is, the backing Trump administration has given India on the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistan has been much stronger than before.
Afghanistan is another area where the views of Indian policy makers and Bolton seemed aligned. Reports emanating from Washington since Tuesday suggest that Bolton was against a deal with the Taliban, which put him at odds with Trump. The former NSA was reportedly in favour of a tougher military response towards the Taliban and this difference of views led to Trump firing him.
India has been keen that the Taliban—seen as a proxy for Pakistan—do not come to power in Afghanistan and that US troops in Afghanistan ensure that the hardline Sunni militia are routed before they leave.
A third area of convergence with Bolton for India has been China and its aggressive actions in the South China Sea. News reports say China has been one area where Trump and Bolton saw see eye-to-eye— whether it is the “America First" policy vis-a-vis trade or China’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea or the broader Indo-Pacific concept. New Delhi, which reset its ties with Beijing following the 73-day military standoff on Bhutan’s Doklam plateau, had caught the attention of the US as well as other countries in South-East Asia for standing its ground in the face of relentless Chinese pressure. “There is a broad convergence of views between India and the US on the concept of the Indo-Pacific and the need to keep waterways open for trade and free from frictions," said an Indian official seeking anonymity. “This is a view shared across the spectrum of US policymakers," the official said, indicating that Bolton was among these policymakers.
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