Analyse the
prospects and challenges of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ in the context of
India-ASEAN relations
The prospects and challenges of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ in
the context of India-ASEAN relations India
Act East Policy was unveiled by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, at the
12th ASEAN-India Summit in 2014 held in Myanmar. Act East Policy is that the
successor of Look East Policy.
Look East Policy
In order to get over the loss of the strategic partner -USSR
(end of the conflict 1991), India sought to create up a relationship with the
USA and allies of the USA in Southeast Asia .
In this pursuit, former Prime minister of India P V Narasimha
Rao launched Look East policy in 1992, to offer a strategic push to India’s
engagement with South-East Asia region.
India’s Act East Policy was unveiled at the 12th ASEAN-India
Summit in 2014 held in Nay Pyi Taw. In his Opening Statement on the occasion,
Modi said: “A new era of economic development, industrialization and trade has
begun in India. Externally, India's 'Look East Policy' has become 'Act East
Policy’." At now of your time , The prospects and challenges of India’s
‘Act East Policy’ in the context of India-ASEAN relations the 2nd Plan of Action (POA) or the 2010-2015
Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and
Shared Prosperity, was operational . This was adopted by the leaders of the
ASEAN Member States and India at the 8th ASEAN India Summit held in Hanoi,
Vietnam on 30 October 2010.
This was followed by the 3rd POA or the 2016-2020 Plan of
Action to Implement the ASEAN India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared
Prosperity. It aims to pursue the goals set forth within the POA for subsequent
five years (2016-2020) and seeks to create on the achievements made within the
implementation of the previous POA. Within this POA, the 2 sides had drawn an
inventory of priority areas for the amount 2016-2018. In his Opening Statement
at the 14th ASEAN-India Summit, at Vientiane, Laos on 8 September 2016, Prime
Minister Modi stated that “the ASEAN India Plan of Action for the amount
2016-2020 has served us well in fulfilling our objectives. we've already
implemented 54 out of 130 activities identified within the Plan of Action.”
The 2010-2015 POA laid out three broad areas of cooperation —
Political and Security Cooperation; Economic Cooperation and Socio-Cultural
Cooperation. It provides a transparent follow-up mechanism “to review the
progress of implementation of the Plan of Action through the prevailing
mechanism of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations” and provides for submission of
progress reports on the implementation to the annual ASEAN-Post Ministerial
Conference with India and therefore the
annual ASEAN-India Summit.
Political and Security Cooperation
The prospects and challenges of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ in
the context of India-ASEAN relations PM Modi speaking during the ASEAN-India
Breakfast Summit in Singapore on 15 November 2018 (chaired by Singapore PM Lee
Hsien Loong) stressed on a number of the most tenets of India’s Act East Policy
— ASEAN Centrality; ASEAN’s consensus driven approach; support for an open and
inclusive regional security architecture (based on ASEAN centrality), besides
the economic elements of the connection .
India and ASEAN are cooperating within the following
security-related fields:
Counter-terrorism: by sharing best practices and knowledge ,
enforcement and capacity building (under existing ASEAN-led mechanisms);
Cyber-security capacity building, policy coordination and
CBMs, including by implementing ASEAN Cybersecurity Cooperation Strategy and
ARF Work Plan on Security of and within the Use of data and Communication
Technologies;
Maritime Cooperation between India and ASEAN takes place via
existing ASEAN-led mechanisms just like the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum
(EAMF) for the aim of higher coordination in search and rescue, to stop and
manage accidents/incidents stumped in accordance with ICAO and IMO guidelines.
India participated within the 3rd EAMF in Danang, Vietnam, on
27-28 August 2014. India has also successfully organised the 2nd ASEAN-India
Workshop on Blue Economy in New Delhi on 18 July 2018. India has strengthened
its bonds of maritime cooperation and connectivity with the region. India’s
vision of Security and Growth for beat the Region (SAGAR) has been recognised
by ASEAN. there's congruence of views on the importance of a rules-based order
within the region, including through upholding law of nations like the 1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the ocean . The prospects and
challenges of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ in the context of India-ASEAN relations
, This has meant a reaffirmation of the “importance of maintaining and
prioritising peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation, in
and overflight above, the SCS”.
Modi joined EAS leaders within the adoption of 5 EAS
Statements, viz., Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Returnees; Marine Plastic
Debris; Smart Cities; Safe and Secure use of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials;
ICT and Digital Economy. especially , Modi hoped that the understanding on
counter-terrorism would move beyond statements to more practical cooperation.
India’s support for ASEAN centrality was clearly evident when
it elevated the connection to the Strategic Partnership level following the
ASEAN-India Vision Statement 2012. India actively participates in ASEAN-led
mechanisms to deal with security challenges (both traditional and
non-traditional). This includes the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN PMC+1
with India, East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus
(ADMM-Plus), ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting and ASEAN-India Joint
Cooperation Committee. additionally , it participates in other sub-regional
forums like Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and therefore the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) forum.
India has supported and promoted the shared values and norms
as enshrined within the ASEAN Charter, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in
Southeast Asia (TAC) and therefore the EAS Declaration on the Principles of
interdependent Relations (Bali Principles), for developing regional security
architecture. to the present end, India features a dedicated Mission to ASEAN
in Jakarta. Then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced India’s decision
to appoint a separate Ambassador to ASEAN at the 11th India-ASEAN Summit in
Brunei on October 1, 2013. supported this decision, Mr. Suresh K. Reddy became
the primary Resident Ambassador of Indian Mission to ASEAN on January 15, 2015
and therefore the Mission started working from its new Chancery premises in
Jakarta from January 2015 onwards. India found out its own ASEAN-India Centre,
and for several years held the annual Delhi Dialogue conference.
Economic Cooperation
India was ASEAN’s sixth largest trading partner in 2017.
Trade between India and ASEAN was over $ 81 billion in 2017-2018 and
constitutes 10 per cent of India’s total trade. India’s strength lies in its
services sector. The ratification process of the Agreement on trade Services
under the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN
and India is already completed. The aim of the agreement is to “fully tap the
potential, offered by the vast markets of ASEAN and India through the effective
implementation of the ASEAN-India trade Area, and therefore the
operationalization of the ASEAN-India Trade and Investment Centre.”
The prospects and challenges of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ in
the context of India-ASEAN relations , It is hoped that the RCEP negotiations,
which are in their end and expected to be concluded in 2019, will end in the
world’s largest trading bloc (40 per cent of worldwide GDP). Domestic
manufacturers and also some international trade experts in India advise
cautious approach to RCEP given the very fact that India already faces deficit
with many RCEP members, including with China, South Korea, Indonesia, and
Australia. The aim is in fact , to foster a “global trade environment that's
open, interdependent , rules based and inclusive.”
India is committed to connectivity (land, air and maritime) cooperation with ASEAN in line with the Masterplan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, which was adopted on 6 September 2016. Once the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project is completed, it might be extended to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
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