'The US must engage closely with India'

India figured prominently in a leading Washington think-tank's recently simulated energy crisis, which brought together leading energy and regional experts from across the United States, to examine the likely response of various countries to a major terrorist attack on energy distribution and production facilities in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Kim Holmes, vice-president, Foreign and Defence Policy Studies, at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said, "The game revealed that there are several policies and initiatives that India can take to prepare for future energy shocks." The Foundation had organised the simulation that was closed to the media.

"India's growing energy demand to support its rapidly expanding economy is a key factor, certainly impacting the global energy markets today, along with China. This growing energy demand also is influencing India's diplomatic and military priorities in very significant ways," Holmes added.

Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow for South Asian Studies at the Heritage Foundation, explained, "The whole point was to see how key players would react to such a major energy crisis, provoked by a terrorist attack, on energy distribution and production facilities."

Curtis feels that, "although India's short-term options to handle such an energy shock are rather limited, there are several long-term policies that India can begin to pursue now to ensure that it is in a better position to handle a potential future energy crisis."

Curtis is a former analyst at the Central Investigative Agency and a former staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which dealt with South

Asian issues for Republican Senator Richard Lugar, who at the time chaired this powerful panel.

"The game showed the importance of finding a role for India and China. Both countries should become a part of the International Energy Agency mechanism given their increasing share in consuming more of energy resources."

She said the simulation brought out the fact that it is imperative that "the Indians need to identify several steps that New Delhi might pursue now to enhance future energy security -- steps like building strategic oil reserves, pursuing civil nuclear options, removing foreign investment barriers to develop its own energy infrastructure, developing alternative energy technology like windmills, bio-fuels and cars that run on alternative fuels and of course, increasing energy efficiency."

"Certainly, India's role as the fourth-largest energy consumer in the world today and the fact that that their energy security is increasingly driving its foreign policy, means it is more important than ever that the United States and India have a robust energy dialogue," she said.

Curtis noted, "The US has made clear that it objects to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, something that has been under discussion for 15 years."

But she acknowledged, "Washington must do more than make objections" to India's efforts to depend on Iran for its energy needs, as the US believed that enhancing Iran's coffers would destabilise the region.

"The US must engage closely with India about its energy challenges and work hard with Indian officials to find solutions that encourage security and stability in South Asia and beyond," Curtis said.