Don't count on 'friend' Trump

With Donald Trump as America's president, no friend or ally needs enemies.

- ANITA INDER SINGH

Ask America's European allies, who are shocked that he seems ready to sell Ukraine's sovereignty and their defenses to a 21st-century imperialist Russia.

Additionally, he wants the US to swallow up neighboring North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally Canada and Greenland, which is ruled by Denmark, another NATO collaborator. India, which once fought a great freedom struggle against British imperialism, is silent on Trump's imperialist intentions, just as it has refused to condemn Russia's actions in Europe. And Trump's intent to throw Palestinians out of Gaza and to create a rich man's Riviera in West Asia pleases Israel—but hardly any other country. International law and territorial integrity are clearly not among Trump's top priorities; shouldn't they be more of India's?

India is silent on these crucial global issues. That does not imply that the mutual admiration society that the transactional Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appear to be forming signals a trouble-free Indo-American relationship. India, as the weaker transactional country, must keep this in mind as it tries to extract goodies from Trump.

Before Modi's arrival in Washington, Trump repeated warnings that he gave several times during his election campaign. He attacked Indian tariffs as the highest in the world. While threatening India with reciprocal tariffs, Trump has declared that India is a very difficult place for business. At the same time, he and Modi boast that Indo-US trade will soar from the current $190 billion to a mind-boggling $500 billion by 2030.