The controversy over the Sino-US joint statement in Beijing last week over the Chinese role in the subcontinent has set the stage for an honest conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama on whether and how the two sides could cooperate in the eastern and western parts of Asia.

Senior US officials were quick to douse the controversy by affirming that America’s relations with China will not be built at the expense of India.

India knows that joint declarations do not a relationship make. Recall the brouhaha in India a few months ago over the statement with Pakistan on the margins of the Non-Aligned Summit at Sharm el-Sheikh.

For Delhi the issue is about getting a clear sense from President Obama on where India stands in his conception of Asia. If Delhi wonders why Obama made no reference to India in his Tokyo speech on Asia policy, it is best to put it squarely on the table when the prime minister meets the president.

Earlier this year at the end of May, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at the annual Shangri La Dialogue, had underlined India’s critical role as a net contributor of security to the Asia-Pacific.

The prime minister would surely want to know if there is a change; but he also needs to recognise the current political context in Washington.

Those familiar with the United States are aware of the extraordinary complexity of the American policy-making process, which is usually a chaos in the first year of a new administration. Massive personnel changes, the pet fancies of the new policy-makers and the difficulties of coordination do automatically generate conflicting signals to friends and adversaries alike. Obama’s Washington is no exception.

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