Obama kept support for India's UNSC bid secret till last

"Obama had kept the move close to his chest even till the last moment and it was not clear until shortly before his parliamentary address that Obama would call for India to join an expanded council on a permanent basis," The Washington Post reported.
The support received endorsement from the media too which viewed it as a move to counter China.

The papers, who carried Obama's support announced in a speech in the Indian Parliament on the front pages, said that it emphasized Washington's efforts to deepen its economic and defence relationship with the world's biggest democracy.

While backing the President's move, the Post cautioned that endorsement does not set a time frame for when India would secure a permanent Security Council seat. Nor does it offer any guarantee that India would secure such a seat.

The New York Times on the other hand said that Obama backed India for the UNSC to counter China. "The Obama move is aimed at countering China."

"By endorsing India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, President Obama on Monday signaled the United States' intention to create a deeper partnership of the world's two largest democracies that would expand commercial ties and check the influence of an increasingly assertive China," the daily said.

The Times warned that the move is lokely to set off fresh concerns in Beijing, which has had a contentious relationship with India and has expressed alarm at American efforts to tighten alliances with Asian nations wary of China's rising power.

"India has campaigned hard for a UN seat, long a subtext of a warming India and US relationship. Obama embraced the idea in a speech to India's parliament that emphasized Washington's efforts to deepen its economic and defense relationship with the world's biggest democracy," The Post said.

The Post also said that India was offered a permanent seat on the council 55 years ago, in 1955. "But that offer, made by the United States and the Soviet Union, was declined by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru said the seat should be given to China instead," it said.

The Los Angeles Times said Obama's pledge is "only a step" in direction of new international stature for India.

"The endorsement, though of little practical value at the moment, is aimed at boosting relations with India, and is a signal of the administration's vision of Asia at a time when China's influence is growing," it said.

"The move is a signal from Obama about how the United States sees Asia's future. The administration has been working to strengthen the partnership with India at a time when both countries want to counter a more assertive China," it said.