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United States President Barack Obama's backing for India 's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council has been termed as 'significant' for the relation between the two countries. Ashley Tellis, who was a Bush administration advisor on South Asia, said that the announcement signals that the Obama administration is putting a higher priority on India than longtime allies Germany and Japan , which also seek permanent seats. "That the U.S. has supported India over treaty allies like Germany is very significant - it speaks volumes for how Obama thinks about India . The most unhappy states will be Pakistan and China ," the Los Angeles Times quoted Tellis, as saying. Ben Rhodes, a top foreign policy adviser to Obama, said that the endorsement was intended to send a strong message "in terms of how we see India on the world stage." Meanwhile, Richard Fontaine, a former adviser to Senator John McCain, who had blamed Obama for letting the relationship with India drift, reacted with praise and surprise. "It's a recognition of India 's emergence as a global power and the United States ' desire to be close to India ," Fontaine said. Earlier, on Monday, Obama had backed India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council while addressing a joint session of Parliament in New Delhi . "The just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is effective, efficient, credible and legitimate. That is why I can say today: In the years ahead I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member," Obama had said. Obama was on a three-day visit to India , which is part of his four-nation Asia tour that will also take him to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

Backing for India's UNSC seat speaks volumes of how US thinks about India: Experts