A STATEMENT in President Barack Obama's address to the Lok Sabha that “in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed United Nations Security Council that includes India as a permanent member” has generated much euphoria in India and an equal amount of anger in Pakistan, said The Hindu in an editorial published Friday. Excerpts: India has seen it as an endorsement by the United States of its longstanding efforts to get into the elite club of the world's big powers. In Islamabad, the Cabinet met to “express serious concern and strong disappointment” over what it saw as an act of betrayal by Washington. Both reactions are way off the mark. True, this was the first time a President of the United States expressed such a sentiment. Successive administrations have preferred to talk around the subject. In this sense, Mr. Obama's words represent a symbolic shift in policy. Yet they were nowhere close to an explicit statement of support for India's bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council. Compared to the 2005 statement by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice that the “United States unambiguously supports a permanent seat for Japan on the United Nations Security Council,” President Obama's formulation sounds like a vague promise. Further, his reference to New Delhi's “increased responsibility” was a clear indication that India would first need to pass American tests of responsible conduct in international affairs. With or without US support, India has a long way to go in its quest for permanent membership of the Security Council. The UN has spent years discussing reforms and the comity of nations is far from reaching an agreement on them. __
