By C. Raja Mohan
What India鈥檚 and South Korea鈥檚 dealings with Washington tell us about real and imagined U.S. peace initiatives in Asia.
Although there are striking similarities between the geopolitics of the Indian subcontinent and the Korean Peninsula, the international relations community rarely pays attention to their parallel trajectories. Recent events provide a useful starting point for a comparison: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 troubled dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump contrast sharply with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung鈥檚 smoother handling of the White House鈥檚 real and imagined peace diplomacy during his visit to Washington last month. Modi鈥檚 difficulties and Lee鈥檚 successes also offer insights into the prospects for Trump鈥檚 peace initiatives in Asia.
In the 1940s, the subcontinent and the Korean Peninsula were both partitioned鈥攗nder very different circumstances but with similarly lasting consequences. These divisions created two of the world鈥檚 most intractable conflicts: between India and Pakistan and between North and South Korea. The proliferation of nuclear weapons in both regions by the 1990s elevated them into major security concerns for Washington and the world.
Whereas the United States played a direct role in Korea鈥檚 division and has been deeply engaged in the peninsula鈥檚 security ever since, its role in South Asia was inherited from Britain and has always been less direct, if enduring. The rigidity of the Korean order was codified in Washington鈥檚 alliance with Seoul. In South Asia, by contrast, the United States kept ties with both India and Pakistan.