USA's wooing Narendra Modi "ludicrous", says Chinese media

Bejing, Sept 29: Terming US efforts to woo Prime Minister

after denying him a visa as "quite ludicrous," an article in the Chinese state-run media said America plans to revitalise its relations with India to boost its

containment policy.

"The hospitality Modi enjoys in the US this time stands in clear contrast with the fact that he was denied a visa by the US government in 2005", an article in the web edition of the Global Times said.

"However, his latest visit hasn't gone smoothly either. Just ahead of Modi's US trip, a New York court issued summons against him for his alleged role in 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, casting a shadow over this visit." the piece written by a scholar of the state-run Shanghai Institute of International Studies said.

"Washington's differing attitudes before and after Modi was elected as Prime Minister are quite ludicrous. It should not be the way the world's No 1 power behaves diplomatically," the article in the newspaper known for its nationalistic views said.

The opinion piece went on to add: "But indeed, it shows that the US' desire to hold itself out as the benchmark of human rights and morality in global governance.

It also displays Washington's dissatisfaction with India in the past few years."

Hinting at the apparent differences in the goals of India and the US, it said, "In terms of strategy and security, there is still a gap between India's objectives and those of the US."

Suggesting that though there were apprehensions in India regarding "China's rise," it said, "India does not want to be part of Washington's China containment policy."

"The US hopes to make defence cooperation a priority policy, while India is more willing to let US weapon manufacturers invest in India," it said.

PTI