US foresees India as only country which could counter China: Mead

Lahore, Jul 27 (ANI): The United States is largely interested in investing in India, both economically and through nuclear weapons, because it foresaw India as the only country which could counter China in terms of economic development, according to Yale University Professor Walter Russell Mead.

He said the US wanted a peaceful and democratic South Asia, free from terrorism and any nuclear threats, and added Washington shares "independent and strategic" relationships with India and Pakistan.

Addressing a seminar on US foreign policy organised by the Punjab University Pakistan Studies Centre (PSC) on Monday, Mead said it is not surprising that the US foreign policy shifts from time to time according to the country's own strategic and national interests.

In his address, Mead discussed the US foreign policy from a historical perspective, comparing it with the current foreign policy of the Obama administration, the Daily Times reports.

He said the US desires for both India and Pakistan to resolve their disputes peacefully, so as to provide economic prosperity and peace in the region.

Mead said that both countries would have to take initiatives themselves, and there was not much that the US could do in this regard.

He said that the US is already helping Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Act in order to alleviate the education, health and energy sectors.

Stressing on the need for a reconciliation process between India and Pakistan, Mead said that both the nuclear countries should respect each others' territorial integrity and sovereignty. (ANI)