ASEAN-India at 25…
Economic win-win
The two sides are stepping up their efforts to upscale their bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2022. At the summit in Vientiane, the two sides focused on fast-tracking implementation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Services and Investment Agreements and completion of the ongoing review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement at the earliest. India proposed development of an ASEAN-India Network of Business Chambers and Thailand agreed to host the ASEAN-India Business Fair in 2017 to leverage new opportunities arising from the FTA.
The signing of a Free Trade Area in goods in 2009 has been followed by the sealing of ASEAN-India Agreements on Trade in Services and Investment in November 2014, which entered into force on July 1, 2015. The setting up of ASEAN-India Center for Investment is expected to lead to enhanced two-way investment.
Strategic depth
India and ASEAN are also looking to imbue their bilateral ties with greater strategic depth through enhanced consultation on cross-cutting issues like terrorism, piracy and climate change. “Our engagement with ASEAN is not just about a solid base of shared civilization heritage. It is also driven by our common strategic priorities of securing our societies and bringing peace, stability and prosperity to the region. ASEAN is central to India’s ‘Act East’ policy. And, our ties are a source of balance and harmony in the region,” said PM Modi at the summit in Vientiane.
The continuing volatility in the South China Sea has imparted an added urgency to enhancing security cooperation across the spectrum, with special focus on maritime security and freedom of navigation. ASEAN remains pivotal to addressing the traditional and non- traditional security challenges facing the Asia- Pacific region. Securing the seas, as PM Modi said, is a shared responsibility. “India supports freedom of navigation, over-flight and unimpeded commerce, based on the principles of international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. And, we are ready to play our part in partnership with ASEAN.”
Enhanced connectivity
Enhancing connectivity, physical, digital, economic, institutional and cultural, is a primary driver of ASEANIndia relations. India has robustly backed fast-tracking a host of connectivity projects that will quicken regional integration and has supported the Master Plan on ASEANPlus Connectivity (MPAC). Recently, India announced the setting up of a joint task force on connectivity to carry forward the exploratory work of the extension of IndiaMyanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Enhancing connectivity to Southeast Asia is critical to unlocking the economic energies and enterprise of India’s northeastern states.
Development partnership
The enhancement of the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund from $1 million to $5 million and setting up an ASEAN-India Inclusive Innovation Platform to facilitate commercialization to low-cost technologies are important steps in deepening development partnership. Building in less developed ASEAN countries through setting up institutions like the Entrepreneurship Development Centers (EDCs), Centers of Excellence in Software Development and Training, and Center for English Language and Training (CELTs) in CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) countries.
The Long View: Co-scripting Asian century
With the Act East policy moving onto fasttrack, India has re-articulated the centrality of ASEAN in its expanding relations with the extended East Asian region. India has vigorously supported major ASEAN-centric initiatives – the creation of an ASEAN Community by 2015, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), the Narrowing of the Development Gap, and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025. The blueprint for accelerating ASEAN- India plan of action for the period 2016 to 2020, entitled “Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.” The progress has been rapid, with priority years drawn up to 54 out of the 130 jointly already implemented. Backing its commitment to the region with funds, PM Modi announced a line of credit of $1 billion at the 13th ASEAN-India summit in Kuala Lumpur to promote projects that support physical and digital connectivity. At the Vientiane summit, India announced enhancing the ASEAN-India Fund with an additional $50 million.
Beyond geopolitics and geo-economics, the cultural and spiritual connections impart a special flavor to ASEAN-India relations. Buddhism remains an enduring bond, which is being revitalized with the revival of Nalanda University into an international knowledge hub. ASEAN leaders are all praise for India’s proposal to document civilizational ties by mapping Indian inscriptions along the Mekong River as well as documentation of shared cultural symbols. The ASEAN Studies Center in Shillong promises to expand cross- border ties on trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.
Building on a quarter century of all-round expansion of relations, India and ASEAN are now looking to explore new frontiers and climb new peaks as they celebrate the silver jubilee of their dialogue partnership. As they look ahead to the next few decades of mutually empowering engagement, India and ASEAN must aim big, walk the talk and think strategically to fructify the dream of an Asian century. Positioning people at the heart of their blossoming relationship and shaping a balanced regional order amid shifts in the world order will be central to their shared journey.