BEIJING - Sino-Indian ties are unlikely to be affected by Washington's attempts to encourage New Delhi to take a stronger role across Asia, experts said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told India on Wednesday "it's time to lead" in Asia.

Clinton, delivering a speech in India's southern port city of Chennai, said New Delhi should exercise political influence to match its economic clout.

She listed areas where India and the US cooperate, including clean-energy technologies, cyber-security and addressing concerns over Iran's nuclear program.

However, United States officials are careful not to describe deepening US ties with India as focused on countering China, and Clinton emphasized that New Delhi and Washington could still have "strong, constructive" ties with Beijing.

"India is not going to be the US' follower, though it is willing to cooperate with the US for practical benefits," said Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

The US is now trying to push India to become a regional power that could balance China in Asia, though it doesn't say so, Fu said.

Meanwhile, New Delhi remains wary of being seen as siding with one power over another, and has its own issues with Washington despite warming ties.

"Clinton's words may have provoked India on some level, but India will not be an opponent of China because the two developing countries know well the importance of a peaceful and friendly environment for further development," he said.

China and India have emphasized many times that regional stability and peace is important for both, and increased cooperation between the two is good for the region and the world.

Clinton's speech came one day before she traveled to a meeting of Asia's biggest security forum in Bali.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum will likely focus on disputed waters and islands in the South China Sea, where the US is trying to get involved although it is not a party to the disputes.

No matter what the US' original motive is, its actions and statements related to the area, especially those in recent months, do not contribute to reaching peaceful solutions to some regional issues, said Zhou Qi, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Clinton bluntly announced that the South China Sea was of interest to the US last October, which complicated long-standing disputes in the area.

"China's image in Southeast Asia has improved greatly, especially after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, but now US' actions are causing trouble for China," Zhou said.

India is unlikely to become a tool of the US to strategically balance China in the region, judging by the relationship between China and India, no matter what the US is trying to do, she added.

Reuters contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 07/22/2011 page11)