A senior US official on Monday defended a role for China in South Asia despite Indian sensitivities and said that New Delhi likewise had a role to play in East Asia. President Barack Obama's administration has tried to broaden relations with both emerging Asian powers but it has struggled to address perceptions in New Delhi that the United States is more interested in China.
Some Indian pundits reacted with dismay last year when Obama visited Beijing and, in a joint statement with President Hu Jintao, called for the United States and China to cooperate in South Asia.
"I know there is a certain sensitivity maybe about that, but I don't see that it should be the case," Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Monday of the Indian concerns. "China has an important role - it's a neighbour of South Asia - and it's unimaginable that China would not be involved. And so the question is can we work together in a positive way on shared interests in creating peace, stability and economic opportunity in South Asia," Steinberg said. Steinberg, addressing the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said that the United States likewise was engaging India over East Asia and considered New Delhi a "key partner."