In a startling claim, former American National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has accused President Donald Trump of putting India-US ties on stake for his personal gains. In an interview with MeidasTouch YouTube channel, Sullivan said that Trump is sabotaging ties with India, and it’s one of the least talked about aspects of his foreign policy. The Biden-era official said that Trump is sacrificing India ties to boost his family’s business deals with Pakistan.
Major Strategic Setback
Sullivan claimed that the United States and its officials worked on a bipartisan basis for years to strengthen its relationship with India. He said that the US should align with India on technology, talent, economics, and in countering China’s strategic drift, reported News18.
“Now, largely due to Pakistan’s willingness to engage in business deals with the Trump family, Trump has sidelined the India relationship. This is a major strategic setback because a strong India-US partnership serves our core interests,” he added. Sullivan also warned that the deteriorating ties with India will make other American partners volatile, as they will feel that the US cannot be trusted.
Decades Of Hard Work Gone
This is not the first time that US President Trump has faced criticism over his handling of the India issue. John Bolton, the former National Security Advisor in the first Trump administration, slammed President Trump and his administration’s policies toward India. Bolton accused Trump of shredding decades of efforts to strengthen the partnership with New Delhi.
“The West has spent decades, US in particular, trying to wean India away from its Cold War attachment to the Soviet Union [and] Russia, buying sophisticated weapons from them and cautioning India on the danger posed by China, symbolised by what’s called the Asian Security Quad – Japan, India, Australia and the United States,” he added.
However, Trump has essentially upended that for several reasons and has sent India back toward Russia, to grow closer to China, and just ‘shredding these decades of efforts’ to try and change that alignment, said Bolton.
Trump’s Nobel Prize Dream
Earlier, reports revealed that during a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump informed him about Pakistan nominating him for the Nobel Peace prize for helping in the India-Pakistan ceasefire following a four-day conflict in May this year. Trump was indirectly asking India to do the same. However, PM Modi stated that the US had no involvement in the ceasefire and that the deal was reached solely through talks between India and Pakistan. India has so far refused to back Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and that has irked the US President, whose sole goal appears to be winning the accolade.
US Tariffs On India
The Trump administration first imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India and later whacked another 25 per cent over that, taking the total of 50%. Trump did not impose tariffs on Russia or China. This exposed his double standards and biased views towards India.
