Page 103 - AEI Insights 2018 Vol 4 Issue 1

AEI Insights, Vol 4, Issue 1, 2018

For both ASEAN and its dialogue partners, keeping economic growth intact and the idea of
regional economic integration appealing, would perhaps be the major challenges in times to
come. However, if these twin challenges are met with successfully, that can open a new range
of opportunities for the entire region. RCEP is an important tool in that regard. It is beyond
doubt that RCEP has the potential to further integrate India into the regional economic and
trade architecture. However, with RCEP, there still exist some bottlenecks. India’s Foreign
Secretary, Dr. S. Jaishankar’s comments before the Department Related Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Commerce underscore that “though larger FTAs are important for
getting preferential access to the markets, it is important to be cautious about the manner in
which such arrangements work out in respect of our imports as well as on our efforts to increase
the share of manufacturing sector in our economy” (Haidar & Arun, 2017).

For long, India was criticised for focussing obsessively on its western neighbour and ignoring
its eastern neighbours. That has substantially changed over the past twenty-five years. India
has become an active participant in the region. Stronger ASEAN is in India’s interest for several
reasons. The ‘three Cs’: Commerce, Connectivity, and Culture are poised to play a key role in
that regard. In that context the revival of the Nalanda University holds immense importance.
Nalanda was a great source of learning for countries across Southeast and East Asia during the
ancient times. India has, with active support of countries such as Japan, Singapore, Australia,
South Korea and Indonesia, resurrected and revitalized the Nalanda University to make it once
again the hub of knowledge and higher learning in the world.

For the ASEAN and its member countries, India is not perceived as a threat anymore. Common
interests and threats emanating from the same sources bind India and ASEAN together. During
the fifteenth India-ASEAN Summit held in Manila, Philippines in November 2017, a range of
initiatives were taken, which have the potential to bring India-ASEAN relations to new heights
(Indian Mission to ASEAN, 2018):

a) Enhance our strategic partnership by designating security and economic cooperation in
maritime domain as a focus area.
b) Offer of joint exercises and fleet review by navies of ASEAN countries and India.
c) Offer of coordinated patrols to address traditional and non-traditional maritime threats
and undertake exercises to effectively coordinate our response to natural disasters.
d) Offer of stepping up our economic cooperation in shared maritime domain by
enhancing maritime connectivity and by working towards a Protocol on Blue Economy.
e) Organize a Start Up Festival in India to encourage digital commerce among ASEAN-
India youth
f) Organize an ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on the theme, “Ancient Route, New
Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic ASEAN-India Partnership”
g) Host a Business Summit and an ASEAN India Business Council event in January 2018.
h) Host ASEAN India Connectivity Summit in India.
i) Host the first working group meeting on Civil Aviation at New Delhi.

Connectivity- digital, physical, economic, and people-to-people- all remain essential in shaping
India’s relations with ASEAN. When the Look East policy was started, one of the reasons
pertaining to the Northeastern states of India was that India was under dire need of curbing
insurgency in the region. The support of Myanmar was of key importance at that point. A

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