India Miffed By Obama's Bond With Beijing

President Obama might find Indian PM Manmohan Singh a bit prickly when he arrives in Washington this weekend, after Obama gave India short shrift during his recent Asia trip. Obama didn’t mention India at all in his speech on US relations with Asia, and caused further offense in a joint statement issued with Beijing that implied China could help mediate between India and Pakistan.

Beijing has a track record of siding with Pakistan, so a Chinese mediator is the last thing India wants, the Washington Post reports. The nation worries that China’s economic sway over the US may be eroding a relationship nurtured under President Bush: “Obama’s China (credit) card casts shadow on PM’s US visit,” ran a headline in the Times of India today. (More Barack Obama stories.)