1. Prologue
  2. ASEAN – India Commemorative Summit 2012
    1. #1: India-ASEAN car rally
    2. #2: Naval Expedition
    3. #3: India-ASEAN Vision – 2020 document
    4. More co-op in regional forums
    5. Maritime Cooperation
    6. Development front
    7. Renewable Energy
    8. Funding
    9. Socio-Cultural
    10. Monuments
    11. Connectivity
  3. Delhi Dialogue
  4. India ASEAN logo
  5. ASEAN-India Eminent Persons Group (AIEPG)

Prologue

  • You know the rule, whenever someone/something’s birth/death anniversary is in the multiple of 10, 15,25…then it becomes important for UPSC. (Whether UPSC will actually ask any question or not, that’s a different matter!)
  • Anyways ASEAN topic becomes important because in the end of 2012, two important developments took place
    1. 20th Anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue.
    2. India-ASEAN FTA  in service & investment was signed.

ASEAN – India Commemorative Summit 2012

  • Held in Delhi, Dec 2012 (during the same time when Delhi gang-rape protests had erupted).
  • To mark the 20th year anniversary of the ASEAN – India dialogue
  • Theme: ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.
  • This summit led to three outcomes
    1. car rally
    2. naval expedition
    3. vision document

#1: India-ASEAN car rally

  • It started from Yogyakarta (Indonesia) and ended in New Delhi (India).
  • Its Journey covered 8 out 10 ASEAN nations. (and more than 8000 kms)

But What was the purpose of this car rally?

  1. To Increase jantaa’s awareness about India-ASEAN partnership, with respect to, trade-investment-tourism and people to people linkages.
  2. To waste petrol and increase air pollution

#2: Naval Expedition

INS Sudarshini sent for India ASEAN

  • Part of the 20th anniversary celebration, India sent “INS Sudarshini” on a ship expedition to ASEAN countries. (6 months, 9 countries)
  • To enhance people-to-people and naval links between India and the ASEAN nations.
Route
  1. along the route of the monsoon trade winds
  2. Retrace the sea routes developed during the 10th to 12th centuries, linking India with South East Asia,
  3. It covered most of the modern and ancient ports in ASEAN countries. (This 13 ports were Padang, Bali, Manado, Brunei, Cebu, Manila, Da Nang, Sihanoukville, Bangkok, Singapore, Klang, Phuket and Sittwe.)
About the ship
  1. INS Sudarshini is a ‘Sail Training Ship’ built by the Goa Shipyard Ltd.
  2. Sudarshini = Sanskrit word meaning ‘something beautiful’ or a provider of good omen when visited upon.

#3: India-ASEAN Vision – 2020 document

It was adopted during the Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi (Dec 2012). This document..

  1. Declared India and ASEAN as strategic partners.
  2. India agreed to support ASEAN community (to be setup in 2015).
  3. Work for ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.
  4. political and security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation

More co-op in regional forums

in future, we’ll intensify our security consultations in

Regional forums like Sub-regional forums like
  1. East Asia Summit,
  2. ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
  3. ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus.
  1. Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
  2. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

by the way, recall that we said the similar things to America, in Kerry visit / 4th Indo-US strategic dialogue article.

Maritime Cooperation

As maritime nations, India and ASEAN nations agreed to do following:

  • Anti-piracy
  • relief during natural disasters
  • search and rescue at sea
  • maritime safety: for communication and cargo
  • freedom of navigation
  • fisheries: promotion, protection
  • Peaceful settlement of maritime disputes, as per international law including UNCLOS.
  • cooperate via ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF)

Security

  • defense and counter-terrorism cooperation
  • transnational crimes, India is committed to drug-free ASEAN 2015
  • ASEAN-India Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism.

Development front

Together face common challenges related to

  1. energy security
  2. Food security, agriculture development.
  3. rapid urbanization
  4. climate change
  5. education and skill development, including English language training
  6. drug abuse
  7. natural disasters

Renewable Energy

  • India-ASEAN already cooperating here under the CEBU declaration. (CEBU declaration was signed in 2007 for energy security and alternatives to conventional fuels).
  • India accepts 100% FDI from ASEAN investors for renewable power generation projects in India.

Funding

ASEAN-India Fund
  • $50 million
  • For variety of projects in trade, science & technology, human resource development, health and pharmaceuticals, space sciences, agriculture, new and renewable energy, information and communication technology, telecommunications, transport and infrastructure, and tourism and culture.

ASEAN-India Green Fund
  • $5 Million
  • for pilot projects in the field of climate change, for adaptation and mitigation

ASEAN-India S&T Fund
  • India gave $1 million to this.
  • To collaborate in R&D areas of common interest.

India-CLMV Fund
  • India gave $1 million to this.
  • for short gestation projects in Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar and Vietnam.
  • under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation

Socio-Cultural

  • greater interaction between our people: particularly younger generations, students, scientists, academics, intellectuals, diplomats, media, entrepreneurs, agriculturists and artists
  • We will also enhance contacts between parliamentarians, media personnel, academics and Track II institutions such as the network of think tanks.

Monuments

  • Study/research on India’s civilization links with ASEAN countries.
  • Protect/restore following monuments because they show civilizational bonds between ASEAN countries and India
Monument Country Why important?
Angkor Wat Cambodia
  • By King Survyavarman II.
  • Wat is the Khmer name for temple
  • architecture evolved from Indian subcontinent.
Borobudur and Prambanan temples Indonesia dedicated to the Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
Wat Phu Lao Theravada Buddhist monuments.
Bagan Myanmar Theravada Buddhism. temples, pagodas and monasteries
Sukhothai Historical Park Thailand Buddhist architecture
My Son Vietnam abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century AD

Connectivity

Joint development of infrastructure such as transport networks, ports, shipping and air connectivity

  1. India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway
  • will connect North Eastern states with ASEAN countries.
  • This highway is extended to Lao and Cambodia.
  •  Lao is a landlocked country, but this highway (+MIEC) will turn it into land-linked country.
  1. Mekong-India Economic Corridor (MIEC)
 This will connect Southeast Asia to South Asia on the eastern part of India

^These will help in greater regional economic integration between ASEAN and India.

now let’s look at some minor topics:

Delhi Dialogue

  • India-ASEAN Delhi Dialogue is an annual international conference of political and economic leaders, officials, academics and opinion-makers of ASEAN countries
  • 5th Dialogue was held in Feb 2013, theme “India and ASEAN: Partners for Peace, Progress and Stability.”

India ASEAN logo

India ASEAN logo

  • Unveiled in 2012.
  • It is an improvised five-spoked wind turbine,
  • It represents energy, motion, progress, connectivity and dynamism as well as the expanding canvas of ASEAN-India partnership.

ASEAN-India Eminent Persons Group (AIEPG)

  • This group was setup to review the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations and long-term strategic partnership.
  • Gave report in 2012.
  • Here are the major recommendations:
Diplomat India should install a separate ambassador in Jakarta, solely dedicated to ASEAN-India relations.
Security regular bilateral consultations between ASEAN and India on drug trafficking.
Business
  • ASEAN-India Business Council should be reactivated.
  • Collaborate in promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR)

setup ASEAN-India Business Portal for

  • exchanging of economic and trade information
  • easy interface between companies and business persons.
  • ASEAN-India Centre in India to promote trade, investment, tourism, and cultural exchanges.
Edu/HRD
  • Setup ASEAN-India Centre for Skill Development and Vocational Education in IIT Guwahati.
  • ASEAN and India should establish an ASEAN-India broadband high speed optical fibre network to enhance virtual connectivity. This could become an ASEAN-India Broadband Corridor.
  • Revive Nalanda University as an icon of Asian renaissance.
  • Annual ASEAN-India Essay Competition for  school/ university students, on the theme of ASEAN-India relations in different fields.
Governance related
  • ASEAN-India panel of experts to draw up a Food Security Plan for the region.
  • regular exchange of visits by Parliamentary delegations between the Indian Parliament and the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Assembly.

Ref

  1. Major Inputs from Ms.Shalini Rai
  2. Ch.10, International Relations, Peu Ghosh
  3. aseanindia.com/press-release
  4. delhidialogue.org
  5. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-richer-partnership/1052587/0