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The US must step up and assist India now | HT Editorial
Despite the Indian side taking up this matter with American authorities since February and the Indian foreign minister raising it directly with his US counterpart, the Biden administration has been largely non-committal on easing the export restrictions.
The silence of the United States (US) leadership, India’s key strategic partner on the global stage, as coronavirus infections surged, did not go unnoticed by many in India. It was all the more conspicuous in the face of expressions of solidarity and offers of help from around the world, even from adversaries such as China and estranged neighbours like Pakistan. By the time US secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted their support for India on Saturday, questions were being asked by commentators in both New Delhi and Washington as to why the US was not doing more to help India. There is also the issue of the Biden administration’s curbs on exports of essential raw materials needed by Indian vaccine manufacturers to ramp up their production. Despite the Indian side taking up this matter with American authorities since February and the Indian foreign minister raising it directly with his US counterpart, the Biden administration has been largely non-committal on easing the export restrictions.
To be sure, the US is not the cause of the crisis in India but it is expected that strategic partners will step up and deliver. A speedier expression of solidarity by the US leadership would have had a powerful impact on the Indian people.
As things stand, the US leadership appears to have realised that it needs to step up to assist India and we can expect to see a more concerted effort this week. After that, India and the US can move on to the larger task of putting their resources together to help others struggling with the Covid-19 crisis.
