India must become an integral part of the region
India’s role in Asean should be anchored by growing economic ties, a goal that both sides have steadily advanced over the years. Since 2005, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been the nucleus and nexus of our partnership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Singapore today for the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits. His visit caps a year of sustained high-level engagement with the region, which started in January when all 10 Asean leaders came to New Delhi for the Asean-India Commemorative Summit to mark the 25th anniversary of relations. The leaders also attended India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guests, an unprecedented honour.
In June, Modi became the first Indian prime minister to deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Laying out a vision for the Indo-Pacific, he presented a confident and resolute India ready to take on a greater role in the region.
This week, we look forward to further realising this vision. Modi will attend Asean’s year-end summits and the East Asia Summit (EAS) for the fifth consecutive year, a testament to his personal commitment to India’s Act East policy.
Singapore has long advocated for India to take up its role as an integral part of the region. It is gratifying to see how Asean-India relations have grown over the past 25 years. In 1991, when the Cold War ended and India began its economic liberalisation, we saw an opportunity to deepen ties and build on its historical and cultural links with our region. We pushed for India to become a full Asean dialogue partner in 1995 and join the EAS in 2005.
Since then, Asean-India ties have strengthened. We established the Asean-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) in 2009, and elevated relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2012. Today, India contributes actively to Asean-led fora such as the EAS, the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus, and Asean Regional Forum. All in all, around 30 platforms for cooperation exist, including seven ministerial dialogues and the annual Leaders Summit.
However, we can, and must, do more. For instance, there are tremendous opportunities in enhancing physical and digital connectivity between India and Asean.Asean is committed to strengthening land, air, and sea linkages with India. These linkages will enhance people-to-people flows, as well as boost business, investment, and tourism. The India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway will connect India’s Northeast to mainland southeast Asia. While one can fly directly between India and several Asean countries, there is still much room to expand air links to support growing business and tourism. There is potential in burgeoning cruise tourism as well.
Beyond physical linkages, digital connectivity is the new frontier in the 4th Industrial Revolution. India has made great progress in innovation, start-ups, and digital inclusion. There are opportunities to apply initiatives such as Aadhaar in our region. E-commerce and FinTech are two other areas of potential collaboration. As an economic hub, Singapore can serve as a springboard to launch these ideas to southeast Asia and beyond.
India’s role in Asean should be anchored by growing economic ties, a goal that both sides have steadily advanced over the years. Since 2005, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been the nucleus and nexus of our partnership. This was India’s first comprehensive economic pact with another country and Singapore’s first with a south Asian country. CECA paved the way for the AIFTA in 2009; following which, Asean-India trade expanded 25-fold from US$2.9 billion in 1993 to over US$73 billion in 2017.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the next step in economic integration. Covering 16 countries and over a third of global GDP and trade, RCEP will create an integrated Asian market, including half the world’s population. Over the past few decades, Asia Pacific economies have grown robustly under an open and integrated regional economic architecture.
During Diwali recently, I saw many rangoli decorating homes and offices. Our region is similar — multiple countries, each diverse and bright, interconnected within a pattern that constitutes our regional architecture. As Asean Chair and in the years ahead, Singapore will do its best to invigorate this evolving mosaic of regional cooperation.
Source: Hindustan Times, 13/11/2018
