Page 102 - AEI Insights 2018 Vol 4 Issue 1

Mishra, 2018

In terms of making sense of India-ASEAN engagement, the year 2017 holds a special place. In
2017, ASEAN completed fifty years of its existence. The same year, India and ASEAN
completed twenty-fifth anniversary of their dialogue relations, fifteen years of summit-level
partnership, five years of India-ASEAN strategic partnership, and of course, if seen in
continuity from 1992, the Look East policy itself has completed twenty-five years.

At the symbolic level, in order to bring the relationship to the next level, India invited the Heads
of States from all ten ASEAN countries as Chief Guests for the 2018 Republic Day parade.
During the Commemorative Summit held on January 25, 2018, the Delhi Declaration was also
signed, which will serve as the roadmap for India-ASEAN ties. With the objective to sync their
priorities for greater mutual benefits, India and the ASEAN member countries had adopted the
ASEAN-India Plan of Action, 2016-2020 in August 2015, to focus on the three pillars of
politico-security, economic, and socio-cultural cooperation and take new initiatives in
widening and deepening cooperation in these areas. The three pillars i.e. ASEAN political,
economic, and socio-cultural community, are central to ASEAN’s medium to long-term
priorities.

The Road Ahead

Several key factors have shaped India-ASEAN ties from the beginning, while some of the
factors are still shaping its course. In that context, following are some of the key direct or
indirect shapers of India-ASEAN relations which will influence the broad contours of the
relationship.

The rise of China has been a major factor shaping India’s engagement with ASEAN. China’s
rise as an economic giant and its increasing trade with the ASEAN countries has given India
all the more reasons to step up its collaborative efforts vis-à-vis ASEAN (Hong, 2006). An
increasingly assertive China has become a shared concern, yet neither India nor ASEAN will
publicly address the dichotomy of their dependence on China. “With China-ASEAN ties under
stress due to Beijing’s aggressive territorial claims, New Delhi has been trying to fill the void
by emphasizing its credentials as a responsible regional stakeholder- freedom of navigation
but also access to resources in accordance with principles of international law” (Pant & Deb,
2017). For India, the key challenge has been to prove that it is economically competitive and
strategically reliable- a challenge which will only get more intense and crucial with time.

The Non-Traditional Security Challenges, whether related to the terror networks in the region
or those pertaining to terror finance, pose grave challenges to India and ASEAN. Both India
and ASEAN member countries have to tirelessly work together on that front. For the
multicultural societies of Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand etc., this is as
prominent a challenge as it is for India.

Being the littoral countries of Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean region, India and the
ASEAN member countries are vulnerable to common challenges especially those emanating
from the Oceans: natural disasters, human trafficking, narcotics, gun running, and maritime
piracy. While India and ASEAN have been working together in meeting the challenges
effectively, more coordinated efforts will be needed as India and ASEAN move forward.

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