That era has disappeared, Ray.
"By contrast, the best can be said about Obama's Asia policy is that it seeks to nurture key bilateral relationships — with China at the core of Washington's present courtship — and establish, where possible, trilateral relationships.
The upshot of this is that the Obama team has just unveiled a new trilateral security-cooperation framework in Asia involving the United States, China and Japan. While announcing this initiative, the Obama administration has failed to acknowledge another trilateral — the one involving the U.S., Japan and India.
It is as if the U.S.-Japan-India trilateral has fallen out of favor with the new U.S. administration, just as the broader U.S.-India-Japan-Australia "Quadrilateral Initiative" — founded on the concept of democratic peace and conceived by then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — ran aground after the late-2007 election of Kevin Rudd as the Australian prime minister. Without forewarning New Delhi or Tokyo, the Sinophile Rudd publicly pulled the plug on that nascent initiative, which had held only one meeting.
Now the Obama administration seems intent to bring down the U.S.-Japan-India trilateral. While announcing the new U.S.-China-Japan trilateral, it did not forget to cite the U.S.-Australia-Japan and U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilaterals. But there was no mention of the U.S.-Japan-India trilateral, as if that Bush-endorsed enterprise had become history like Bush."
Article is from the Japan Times.
The era has not disappeared.
One has to note the repeated visits of high officials of the US Administration visiting India in rapid succession.
India holds the following trump card which Japan does not hold:
• The key to US’ success in Afghanistan – building the infrastructure, training the Afghan security forces, cooling off Iran so that the Indian built Chabahar port in Iran and the Highway into Afghanistan can be used so that Pakistan become redundant as a supply route.
• Laying off on Pakistan’s Eastern border so that Pakistan can pull out troops and apply them in the Swat Valley and NWFP.
• US investments in the Indian economic sector which is vast.
• India’s IT manpower.
• And the huge Indian defence purchase to shore up the US economy!
Japan and South Korea are also important to the US scheme of things. They are the buffers to the US mainland. Since they directly affect US security because if they fall, then there is nothing between China and the US, they have their importance. Beyond that, while the Korean economy can assist the US, Japan is in dire straits to help anyone.
China, on the other hand, can sort out the US financially, since she has been bankrolling the US debts. Thus, they cannot be fooled with.
India, on the other hand, can upset the apple cart denying US its economic advantage as also queering the pitch as far as Pakistan pulling out troops from her eastern border and moving it to the West in the SWAT Valley and NWFP.
Obama will lose a lot of sleep, if he thinks he can ignore India!