WSN Special Report
What will be the Policies of the US towards India and Asia in the next four years?
This is a review of an interview in the “Asian Wall Street Journal” that questioned presidential hopefuls George Bush and Bill Clinton on their views of; security human rights and the current situation in Asia India especially gives some idea of what the future may hold.
On Security: Bush said that the most important things were NPT (Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty) regional conflict and uncertainties accompanying the transition from an inward looking to free market economy. His worries included both the Biological weapons convention and the chemical weapons convention. (India is awaiting passage of each of these agreements and doesn’t allow the International atomic energy agency to inspect its nuclear program). Bush says the issues are most important in South Asia. He supports U.S. military presence and views it as a necessity for maintaining stability in the region and said that the US will remain engaged in Asian security issues for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand Governor Clinton considers the US as a more passive power but the US has important security issues to consider in the post-cold war and he wants to maintain a strong role working with US allies to insure that regional issues that he considers primary such as regional security nuclear weapons and non-military special narcotics. He would put more emphasis on working with Asian nations to form broad consensus to reduce regional tensions and to contain regional security.
Expressing their song concern about human rights in the region and how the US can play a positive role in promoting human rights in Asia was another question.
President Bush emphasized that freedom and democracy must prevail in order to grant human rights across the region. He said that many governments fail to respect the universally recognized human rights of their people and he hopes that the help of the regions democratic nations will manage to foster a greater respect for human rights in Asia.
Governor Clinton speaking strongly about human rights concerns said that the protection of human rights abroad parallels. Americas concrete economic and security interests at home. He believes that human rights is an international concern and prays that Japan as the largest aid donor in Asia will regard this new policy that human rights will be effective in determining its aid level. He said that the US should work to promote human rights in the region.
Giving their views on the future US relationship with India and India’s efforts to open up its economy to foreign interests President Bush expressed optimism about India economic reforms and said that US India relations have improved substantially in many areas and his administration is committed to staying in the region.
Gov. Clinton recognizing India as the world’s largest democracy” says that the relationship with India is of great importance for American investment so the US has important interest in supporting Indias economic reforms. Gov. Clinton further said as in the 1960s when the US supported the Green revolution and education and research in India to overcome famine in the 1990s the US needs to help the transition of the world’s largest democracy to an open market economy.
In the end the economy being the main issue in the US right now both Gov. Clinton and Pres. Bush are in a race to exploit the Asian economic market. In the coming decade the Asian Pacific trade could raise the world’s economic income by a cumulative 5 trillion dollars.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 6, 1992
