A few significant things have happened in this arena besides the sale of fighter jets to both Pakistan and India. Secretary of State Rice has recently said that the U.S. aims to make India a world power in the 21st century.

Washington: The United States unveiled plans Friday to help India become a “major world power in the 21st century” even as it announced moves to beef up the military of Pakistan.

Under the plans, Washington offered to step up a strategic dialogue with India to boost missile defense and other security initiatives as well as high-tech cooperation and expanded economic and energy cooperation.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the Bush administration’s outline for a “decisively broader strategic relationship” between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, a senior US official said.

“Its goal is to help India become a major world power in the 21st century,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We understand fully the implications, including military implications, of that statement.”

He did not elaborate but noted that South Asia was critical, with China on one side, Iran and West Asia on the other, and a somewhat turbulent Central Asian region to the north.

I was actually having a discussion on this with Bill Rice a few days ago. Here’s the relevant part that I observed:

With Condi as our new Secretary of State, we’ve been diverting much more to regional powers of late. A major case thus far has been India. India has done an amazing job with helping in the tsunami crisis, and currently they are handling the democratic crisis in Nepal. The new U.S. foreign policy seems to build strong democratic societies that can then exert influence on budding or established problem/communist states. With China enforcing its naval power in the straits and Indonesia, a powerful and populous ally against the communist mainland right next door is certainly in our strategic interest.

Now there’s one more thing I want to add to that, with regards to “turbulent Central Asia.” This, in particular, has to do with gas pipeline revenues to specific hostile governments.

For the time being the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) does not correspond much to the OPEC configuration. Some experts believe, however, that precisely Russia will determine gas prices on a future integrated market.

Combining the efforts of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which own immense gas resources, is an objective condition for creating a large regional gas alliance. Available sales markets, like India, Pakistan, China and some other countries, make this idea even more attractive.

There is a lot of gas in these regions and the profits from it help to keep some ugly regimes afloat. If these were to expand, certainly it could extend their lifetimes. If they are marginalized, however…

NEW DELHI, March 29: The surprise US offer of nuclear cooperation with India, specially for power production, has thrown the entire Indian geo-strategic planning into disarray with the future of gas pipelines from Iran and Myanmar clouded with uncertainty.

While the Foreign and Defense Ministries in New Delhi are jubilant, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry is suddenly apprehensive as nuclear power stations set up with US help could offset the need of long and insecure pipelines this ministry was preparing to lay.

Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mani Shanker Aiyar is, at present, on an official tour of the Middle East to probe the possibilities to cater to the energy needs of India. In the coming months, Aiyer has to hold talks with his counterparts in Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar for these proposed gas pipelines. But the US proposal of civil nuclear energy cooperation has entirely changed the energy scenario.

Bush Administration????????s offer of nuclear cooperation was part of a series of measures to upgrade the Indo-US Strategic Partnership, which includes supply of F-18 fighter jets and nuclear safety cooperation to India.

The Foreign Ministry has welcomed the offer for nuclear technology and cooperation in the field of nuclear safety, describing it as a “a welcome step which reflects an understanding of India’s growing energy requirements.???????

It’s an interesting move for setting up a checkmate, that’s for sure. This particular deal has to do with Iran, something that would both slow the Iranian theocracy’s influence and boost U.S. prominence in the region. In the larger picture, I think stunting demand from one of the world’s biggest future energy demanders would accelerate the decline of governents with such vast gas resources. What do all of you think? Could India be a possible ace the U.S. has up its sleeve?

UPDATE: Bill has more on the U.S.-India strategic partnership, with him and Simon engaging in discussion over it. Bill Roggio also has a lot more.