Comparative Connections v.11 n.4 - India-U.S. and India-East Asia Relations

India-US and India-East Asia relations saw no dramatic developments in 2009. Washington and New Delhi, both with new governments, spent much of the year adjusting to each other. The overall mood of bilateral relations was subdued, not so much because of a specific disagreement or problem, but because Washington was preoccupied with other priorities and New Delhi was coming to terms with the fact that it was not one of them – as it had been during the Bush administration. India-East Asia ties ranged from outreach to Mongolia to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and included the signing of the India-ASEAN FTA in goods. But India’s relations with East Asia were dominated by Sino-Indian tensions inflamed by the media in both countries.