US comfortable with independent India: Expert

The US is comfortable with an independent India and will continue its efforts to "rebalance" the Asian political order given China's rise, feels author Ashley J. Tellis.

"The US is comfortable with an independent India... Since World War II, US engagement in Asia has been to protect its allies, to preserve peace and to dampen efforts toward (nuclear) proliferation," Tellis said at an interactive session here Wednesday.

The US administration's "rebalance to Asia" strategy has received mixed response globally, said Tellis, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In Europe, the "rebalance" has evoked fears that the US might be abandoning old allies in light of the need to cope with new challenges elsewhere, he said.

But in Asia, the rebalance has evoked mixed reviews, he said. "While China views it as a subtle form of containment, other players have doubted its effectiveness," he said.

While on assignment to the US Department of State as senior adviser to the then under secretary of state for political affairs, he was involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India.