The Hindu : Front Page : Catching up in the east

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 29, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Catching up in the east

By N. Ram

VIENTIANE, NOV. 28. India's `Look East' policy — for which political foundations were actually laid half a century ago — took off far too late considering the tremendous economic development that has taken place in this part of the world. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit to Vientiane, Laos for the 3rd India-ASEAN Summit is an essay in making up for lost time.

In every conceivable sense, the East is much more than the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But this regional grouping, established in 1967, has expanded and deepened its activities more effectively than any other regional association, the European Union excepted.

A senior Indian official travelling on the Prime Minister's special flight from Delhi recalled a time in the mid-1960s when, apparently, full membership was offered to India in a yet-to-be-established ASEAN but was turned down (with a senior Indian Minister famously remarking that the country did not want to join "Coca Cola countries" in some regional experiment). Apocryphal or not, the reminiscence speaks to the sea change that has occurred in the region and the world over the past decade and a half.

ASEAN today has ten members, including Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Its region has a population approximating 500 million, a combined GDP of $737 billion, and a total trade of $720 billion. But this is by no means all. Starting with the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), established in 1994, the association has been involved in a beehive of activities involving regional policy initiatives and instruments. Cooperation with major East Asian powers took off with the institutionalisation of dialogue partner relationships with China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, and the holding of annual dialogues with each of them.

India, whose "Look East" policy was launched around 1991, became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, a full dialogue partner in 1995, and a member of the ARF in 1996. After intensive efforts to achieve parity with China, Japan, and South Korea in the ASEAN scheme of partnerships, India became a summit level partner only in 2002.

India's trade with ASEAN is now in the region of $13 billion, and the target is $15 billion for 2005 and $30 billion for 2007.

The third ASEAN-India summit will take place on Tuesday amidst a criss-cross of summits (actually ten) held alongside the main event, the10th ASEAN summit. Its highlight will be the signing of the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.

The politically most interesting of Dr. Singh's appointments here is his half-hour meeting with the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section

India-ASEAN relations taking on a new dimension: Manmohan

Catching up in the east

Anil Ambani asks directors of Reliance Energy to stay on

Kanchi case: all-women police team to assist probe

12 run over by train near Bhopal

First home-built Sukhoi-30 MKI handed over to Air Force

Killing of jawans shocks CRPF

Kallis is a class act in grand theatre

IFFI begins today

Maoists reject talks

ULFA seeks plebiscite

Fishermen held