[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E316-E318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT'S ADDRESS ON U.S. RELATIONS WITH SOUTH ASIA IN
PREPARATION FOR THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT
______
HON. TOM LANTOS
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, at a meeting of the Asia Society yesterday,
our outstanding Secretary of State, Madeleine K. Albright, delivered a
thoughtful speech in anticipation of the Presidential visit to India
and Bangladesh, with a brief stop in Pakistan. This visit is the first
to India by an American president in 22 years and it is the longest
presidential visit ever. This will also be the first visit by a U.S.
President to Bangladesh.
Secretary Albright's speech was a brilliant background analysis of
United States relations and strategic interests in South Asia. With
regard to India, she emphasized the good relations our nation has with
India, and she said that our relations can and should be strengthened.
At the same time, however, Secretary Albright stressed that nuclear
proliferation is a critical issue for the United States, and in order
for our relationship to achieve its rich possibilities India must take
steps to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons and missile delivery
systems.
With regard to the brief visit to Pakistan, Secretary Albright
emphasized: ``I want to leave no room for doubt. In no way is this
decision [to stop in Pakistan] to embrace the military coup or
government led by General Musharraf. And no one should interpret it as
such.'' She said that the United States has important interests with
Pakistan, particularly in controlling the spread of nuclear and missile
technology and in dealing with international terrorism.
In only one area do I find reason to disagree with our distinguished
Secretary of State, Mr. Speaker. In discussing Kashmir, she noted that
her father served as a member of a United Nations mission dealing with
that troubled territory. She said: ``He [my father] is now dead, and I
am old, and yet still this tragic story goes on.'' Our Secretary of
State is not old, Mr. Speaker, she has pursued with great vigor and
energy her critical role as our nation's chief diplomat. We are
fortunate to have as our Secretary of State a woman of such distinction
and such vibrancy.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that Secretary Albright's address to the Asia
Society be placed in the Record, and I urge my colleagues to give it
the thoughtful and careful study that it deserves.
Remarks to the Asia Society--Washington, D.C., March 14, 2000
Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I am indeed delighted to be here. Thank
you very, very much, Ambassador Wisner, and to you as well to
Marshall Bouton and the entire Asia Society. It's a great
pleasure to be here. Ambassador Lodhi and Ambassador Gautam,
it is a pleasure to have you here and other excellencies of
the diplomatic corps; colleagues and friends from the worlds
of scholarship and public policy, Capitol Hill and the press.
I have to warn you: This is a long speech. It's a ``wonky''
speech, and it basically--this, I think, is a perfect
audience for it, because I think that you all have spent a
great deal of time on the subject. I also, as I look around
the audience, I see today people who signed an open letter to
the President on the trip, and I think that you will find
that many of your very thoughtful comments are reflected in
the framework that I'm going to put forward here. At least, I
hope you do.
I appreciate the chance to discuss the President's upcoming
visit to South Asia. Our trip provides a rich opportunity to
promote American interests in an area where a fifth of the
world's people live, security risks are high, economic
opportunities abound, and there is a potential for wide-
ranging cooperation on global issues.
As befits the diversity of the region, our goals are many.
In Bangladesh, we will both affirm and advance our friendship
with a young democracy that was born in strife, and is
surmounting huge obstacles.
During an extended visit to India, the President will seek
to begin a new chapter in our relations with one of the
world's leading countries and oldest civilizations. India is
projected to pass China in size in the early decades of this
century, and I can think of few greater gifts to the future
than a strong and cooperative strategic relationship between
India and the United States.
Finally, in Pakistan, the President will make clear our
support for an early return to democratic rule, as well as
our ongoing friendship for the Pakistani people.
In these areas and others, we are fortunate to have the
support of America's South Asian communities. They are an
amazing success story--and a remarkable resource. For the
fruits of their hard work, generosity and genius are manifest
here and on the subcontinent. And every day they help bind
America and the region closer together.
As the new century begins, our foreign policy priorities
include building a healthy and growing world economy, halting
the spread of weapons of mass destruction, supporting
democracy, and working with other nations to combat
international terror, pollution, drug trafficking and
disease.
We cannot succeed in meeting these priorities without South
Asia. The President's trip offers us the opportunity to make
progress towards each, and to forge ties that will benefit
America for many years to come.
The first official stop on our schedule will be the first
visit ever by an American president to Bangladesh. Although
Bangladesh has a short history as an independent nation, it
has already taken long strides to emerge from poverty and
build an inclusive democracy. In the Muslim world and beyond,
Bangladeshi democracy deserves recognition as a source of
hope for its people and of inspiration to others.
We also want to support the constructive role Bangladesh
plays in the international community. For example, it is a
top contributor of troops to United Nations peacekeeping
missions, and it has embarked with energy and distinction on
a two-year term on the UN Security Council.
Bangladesh is also a valued partner on global issues. Last
week it became the first South Asian country to ratify the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. And it is working to
stamp out child labor in its garment export industry;
preserve its tropical forests, and lift the lives of women
and disadvantaged with a remarkable micro-lending program
that has been emulated around the world.
There is also a very practical economic dimension to this
visit. As Bangladesh has moved to join the global economy,
American investment there has risen thirty-fold in three
years. And with the right policies in place, Bangladesh could
make a quantum
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leap forward by exploiting its vast energy resources,
particularly in natural gas.
Regional corruption in this area--I'm sorry. Regional
cooperation in this area-- Not good. We'll get to corruption.
Regional cooperation in this area would benefit Bangladesh
and all of South Asia. American companies can be the perfect
partners to help seize such opportunities.
America can be a strong partner for India, as well. And the
President's visit to India will be the centerpiece of his
trip. In fact, Bill Clinton's five-day visit to five cities
will be the most extensive trip to that country ever by an
American president.
At the time of the last such visit, I was about to join the
National Security Council in the Carter Administration. And
let me state one truth at the outset. Twenty-two years is far
too long an interval between presidential trips to India.
For decades, the enormous potential of Indo-US relations
went largely untapped. The main reason was an all-
encompassing Cold War. As the world became bipolar, India
chose its own path of non-alignment.
The result, in the words of a former Indian Ambassador to
Washington, was that Indo-US ties exhibited ``a pattern of
misunderstanding, miscalculations, and missed
opportunities.''
That legacy left a burden of history on both our nations
that is only now lifting. Even after the Cold War's end, the
United States and India were slow to explore in depth the
many areas where our interests increasingly converge. We also
failed to lay a fresh foundation for managing our
differences.
The hesitation was on both sides. In some quarters in
India, there was a lingering suspicion of US intentions in
world affairs. And on the American side, some could not or
would not understand India's compulsions and aspirations.
Today, however, this mindset of mutual distrust is
beginning to change. And, in fact, I believe that both the
United States and India are coming to realize that there was
always something unnatural and regrettable about the
estrangement of our two democracies. Nor is the democratic
bond between us merely an ``intangible.'' To the contrary,
the values and heritage we share are the bedrock for all our
steps forward.
And we have been a rich source of ideas and inspiration for
one another. Mahatma Gandhi studied Thoreau and the New
England Transcendentalists--who in turn were deeply indebted
to ancient Indian philosophy. Martin Luther King, Jr. then
looked to Gandhi's towering example of nonviolence. And the
framers of India's Constitution looked to our own in
developing their framework for a free society.
We both understand that true democracy is never achieved;
it is always a pursuit. Human rights concerns in India are
still being addressed--particularly in the areas of
trafficking in women and children, communal violence, and
child labor. But for all our imperfections, the United States
and India are the world's most visible messengers of the
truth that secular, pluralist democracy not only can work, it
does work.
By almost any measure of diversity, India is a world unto
itself: seventeen officially recognized languages and 22,000
dialects; every major world religion--including one of the
largest Muslim populations on earth; an incredible collection
of communities, creeds and cultures; and 600 million eligible
voters in some 600,000 polling places--exercising the miracle
of self-government.
Considering the vast problems it inherited at independence,
Indians have good reason to take pride in their country's
survival as a democracy. And India has done more than
survive--it has made remarkable progress.
In half a century, the average life span in India has
roughly doubled. In place of famine, a ``Green Revolution''
has brought surplus grain to export. And a social revolution
is finally unlocking doors of economic and political
opportunity for women and lower castes.
Huge challenges remain, however. Illiteracy is high. HIV/
AIDS must be attacked with the same energy that has brought
India to the verge of eradicating polio. And millions still
cannot obtain clean water, make a telephone call, or afford
even a bicycle for transportation.
But for all that, it is clear that--particularly in recent
years--India has been on a rising road toward a better life
for its people. It is in this context that next week, the
leaders of the world's largest and oldest democracies will
meet. And we have a great deal of long-awaited business to
discuss.
One such area of business is business. The Indian economy
was one of the great underreported success stories of the
1990s. By decade's end, the turn toward the free market that
began in 1991 was yielding sustained growth rates of 6.5
percent per year.
And the greatest growth has come in areas that bode well
for India's future. In recent years, software exports have
jumped 50 percent annually--with no end in sight. American
companies from Apple and Texas Instruments to Oracle and
Microsoft have come to India for its high ``tech'' and high
skills.
And while other countries beat a path to India's door, it
continues to enrich the globe with talent. Indians make up 30
percent of software workers worldwide.
This should come as no surprise, in light of the
subcontinent's history and culture. The Indian civilization
gave the world several key building blocks of modern
mathematics. And today, India's pool of trained scientists
and engineers is second in size only to our own. In terms of
purchasing power parity, India already has the world's fourth
largest economy. By any yardstick, its middle class is one of
the largest on the planet. And its massive economic takeoff
is widely projected to continue.
In January, Treasury Secretary Summers told an Indian
audience that a 10 percent annual growth rate is ``well
within your grasp.'' At that rate, India's standard of living
would quintuple in just 20 years--even accounting for
population growth.
Toward that end, Indian governments have undertaken new
economic reforms. Late last year, India took steps to open up
its insurance sector to foreign investors. We hope it will
follow suit in telecommunications and other new sectors.
India's economic reforms are a work in progress. The
remaining hurdles include growth-choking deficiencies in
transportation and infrastructure; remnants of the old
license Raj; too much public borrowing; and poorly targeted
subsidies. Changing all this will not be easy. But the
overall trends are plainly in the right direction.
This, of course, is good news for India. And as India's
largest trade and investment partner, it is also good news
for us.
Our two-way trade and investment in India is projected to
grow vastly over the next decade. Whatever its exact
magnitude, the economic potential of enhanced Indo-American
ties is clearly enormous. And we are determined to realize
much more of this potential.
Strengthening democracy is another goal we share with
India. So I am delighted that Minister of External Affairs
Jaswant Singh will join me and five other foreign ministers
as co-sponsors of the Community of Democracies initiative in
Warsaw this June. This is a splendid example of the kind of
ambitious and yet practical cooperation that India and the
United States are in a unique position to pursue.
We also look forward to working, at both government and NGO
levels, with a very active Indian presence at the 56th
Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
And during the upcoming visit, we will launch an Asian
Center for Democratic Governance in Delhi. This independent
forum will be jointly sponsored by the US National Endowment
for Democracy and the Confederation of Indian Industries.
We are also working with India to expand our cooperation in
a broad range of other important areas, including science and
technology, social development, and exchanges such as the
Fulbright program.
Clean energy is an area in which we are striving to
strengthen our partnership and benefit our shared
environment. Unless we act, India will suffer greatly from
global climate change, and by acting together, we and India
can also contribute greatly to solving this problem. And
President Clinton's trip will underscore that in this high-
tech era, India can both prosper in the global economy and
protect the global environment.
That brings me, at last, to security issues.
The United States continues to seek universal adherence to
the NPT. We believe the South Asian nuclear tests of May 1998
were a historic mistake. And UN Security Council Resolution
1172 makes it plain that the international community agrees
with us.
We recognize fully: Only the Indian government has the
sovereign right to make decisions about what is necessary for
the defense of India and its interests. The United States
does not regard India's missiles or nuclear weapons as a
direct threat to us. But we do regard proliferation--
anywhere--as our Number One security concern.
And for this reason, we must accept that significant
progress in this area is necessary, before India and the
United States can realize fully the vast potential of our
relationship.
Deputy Secretary Talbott and Minister Singh have gone to
unprecedented lengths to put our dialogue on these topics on
a more productive footing. And the Cold War's end opened up
new opportunities to work toward a world in which the risks
and roles of nuclear weapons can be reduced, and ultimately
eliminated. We and India agree that it would be tragic if
actions now being taken led the world not toward seizing
these opportunities, but instead toward new risks of nuclear
war.
We have not yet found a way to create sufficient common
ground on these issues. But I am convinced that our
relationship today has the strength and breadth to keep
working through our differences and find a way forward.
So we will continue to discuss how to pursue security
requirements without contributing to a costly and
destabilizing nuclear and missile arms race. Our goal is to
ensure that people everywhere will be freed of such
devastating dangers and economic burdens.
We believe that the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty would
advance India's security interests--as, by the way, it would
advance our own. And that is why, yesterday, I appeared
yesterday with General Shalikashvili to highlight the
important role in the Administration's continuing efforts
with the US Senate on the CTBT that General Shalikashvili
will play.
We likewise believe that steps to strengthen India's
already-effective system of export controls would be in our
common interests. So would a global treaty to ban the
production of fissile material for weapons--and pending that,
a multilateral moratorium.
India has emphasized that its decisions are not taken with
a narrow regional focus, and
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we accept that point. But India's decisions also have
consequences beyond South Asia. Here, prudence and clarity in
India's plans and doctrines could yield great benefits. For a
pattern of steeply rising defense budgets in Asia would serve
neither the continent's security interests nor its
development needs. Such principles of restraint are
consistent with statements India's own leaders have made.
How India addresses all these issues will, of course,
influence the decisions we make. But our goal is a
qualitatively different and better relationship with India--
not a simple return to the status quo before the tests.
Our ability to attain this goal will depend largely on what
India does. And the limits on our ability to cooperate with
India are a matter of US law, as well as our international
obligations. And our approach to nonproliferation is global.
We cannot abandon it simply because we desire an improved
relationship. Any other stance would break faith with all the
nations--from South Africa to South America to the former
Soviet republics--who decisions to strengthen their own
security and the cause of nonproliferation by joining the
NPT. And it would give cover to states which, unlike India,
might threaten us directly.
We will persist in our efforts to reconcile, to the
greatest extent possible, our nonproliferation concerns with
India's appreciation of its security requirements. Our
dialogue on these subjects will be continued during the
President's trip, and beyond.
One topic we will discuss in both India and Pakistan is the
relationship between these two countries. Let me say a word
about the President's decision to stop in Pakistan at the end
of our trip. And on one key issue, I want to leave no room
for doubt. In no way is this a decision to endorse the
military coup or government led by General Musharraf. And no
one should interpret it as such.
We are going to Pakistan because the United States has
interests there which are important--and urgent. Our
interests include avoiding the threat of conflict in South
Asia; fostering democracy in Pakistan; fighting terrorism;
preventing proliferation; and doing what we can to help
create an environment of regional peace and security; and
reaching out to a people whose history is one of friendship
with the United States.
The President is not going to Pakistan to mediate the
Kashmir dispute. We have made it clear he will not do that
unless both sides ask.
Last 4th of July, the President's ability to engage
directly with the Pakistani Government played a key role in
defusing a tense conflict in Kargil. For the President to
maintain such lines of communication may be very important in
any future crisis.
Some of you know that, when I was a young girl, my father
worked as a diplomat at the UN on the problem of Kashmir. He
wrote a book whose first chapter contains the simple but
eloquent statement, ``The history of Kashmir is a sad
story.'' He is now dead, and I am old, and yet still this
tragic story goes on.
But today, the conflict over Kashmir has been fundamentally
transformed. For nations must not attempt to change borders
or zones of occupation through armed force. And now that they
have exploded nuclear devices, India and Pakistan have all
the more reason to avoid an armed conflict, and all the more
reason to restart a discussion on ways to build confidence
and prevent escalation.
India and Pakistan today must find some way to move
forward. The process is not one that the international
community can prescribe for them. We only know that it will
take courage--but not the courage of soldiers.
And we can be sure of one more practical reality: Tangible
steps must be taken to respect the Line of Control. For so
long as this simple principle is violated, the people of
Kashmir have no real hope of peace.
Another vital US interest in Pakistan is countering
terrorism. The terrorist camps next door in Afghanistan
directly threaten American lives. Because of Pakistan's
influence with its neighbor, this matter will be high on the
President's agenda.
General Musharraf has offered to go to Afghanistan himself
to discuss concerns about terrorism. We hope to hear more
from him about this. And we want to see steps to address the
effects of terror on Pakistan's neighbors, notably India.
Nothing would do more to bolster the entire world's
confidence in Pakistan's government than to learn that its
people will regain their ability to choose their leaders
sooner rather than later. And few things did more to
undermine the confidence than the recent order that judges
take an oath of loyalty to the military, rather than to the
constitution.
In all these areas and others, we see opportunities not for
mere gestures, but for real steps forward. For example,
Pakistan's foreign minister has recently argued the
advantages, from Pakistan's own standpoint, of early
signature of the CTBT. Now, that would be the kind of coup
for Pakistan--and I guarantee, the international community
would rally around it.
President Clinton will go to India, and also to Bangladesh
and Pakistan, to strengthen America's bonds with a region
that is growing in importance with each passing year. And in
so doing, he will affirm on an official level what many in
this room can testify to in their own lives.
For the connections between America and South Asia are
manifest. They may come in the form of a physician from
Mumbai who spends part of her time each year in Los Angeles;
or a businessman in Boston who is developing a new technology
with a firm in Dhaka; or a teacher from Tennessee who is
working with young people in Islamabad.
In today's world, geography is no longer destiny. America
and South Asia are distant, but we are linked in the
opportunities we have, the threats we face, and the changes
to which we must respond.
President Clinton's historic visit offers the prospect of a
welcome new chapter in our relations with India and her
neighbors. But although that chapter may begin with a visit
from the White House, it will be written by the people of all
our countries.
For the President's visit, I ask your support next week.
For the larger task, I urge your active participation in the
months and years to come.
Thank you all very much for your attention.
____________________