Taming the dragon: With eyes on China, India to host 10 ASEAN leaders on R-Day

India, in a historical move to strengthen its relations with the 10 ASEAN countries, is planning to invite its leaders for the Republic Day celebrations in 2018. Although it is a norm to invite foreign guests for the R-Day celebrations in India, this move, however, cuts an edge because of the magnanimity of the list. Certainly, there are political interests behind the move, given the fact that the ASEAN countries are considered the "backyard" of China. 

New Delhi has already started reaching out to the 10 leaders and once the President of India is elected, formal invitations will be sent. Among the invitees would be Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Phillippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. While the President will be hosting the leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join them for a special India-ASEAN summit, which will commemorate 25 years of New Delhi's dialogue partnership with the 10-nation bloc.

A good political move

China has a major stronghold on the ASEAN countries, given its population and economic strength. It is to be noted that the GDP of China alone is more than all the ASEAN countries together and India lies parallel economically with the ASEAN. According to certain economic reports, while ASEAN registers a GDP of $2.2 trillion US dollars, India has a GDP of $2.182 trillion and China has a GDP of $18 trillion billion. Needless to say, China proves to be the undisputed dictator in the region, thus allowing it to flex muscles as per its whims and fancies. 

India's relation with the ASEAN countries is pivotal at this stage. Given China's closeness to Pakistan, India has to have substantial support in the global front. Both the ASEAN countries and India have common interests in maritime security, terrorism and other matters of regional and international interests. The raging issue that currently divides China and Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei is the ownership of the South China Sea. And India is taking this in its stride. 

It needs to be noted here that the South China Sea is a busy waterway through which half of India's trade passes. Moreover, it is a rich source of oil and petroleum for India. Although China had raised objections to ONGC's explorations in the sea, India maintained its stand on the basis of Vietnam's permission to India to access the sea for drilling. 

It is also important to note that India is ASEAN's sixth largest trading partner and that both meet regularly in seven Ministrial meetings in Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Tourism, Agriculture, Environment, Renewable Energy and Telecommunications. Trade between India and ASEAN stood at $65.04 billion in 2015-16 and comprises 10.12 percent of India's total trade with the world.

Act-East Policy by Modi was the first step

This has given further momentum to the relations that India shares with the ASEAN countries. The ASEAN-India free trade has further enhanced the integration of the two entities. Since the inception of East Asia Summit in 2005, it has played an important role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of East Asia.This is a deliberate move to combat China, which showcases its strength to increase its grip over the disputed South China Sea. 

This, however, has been rendered fruitless as Philippines earned the support of an international  tribunal for a stake in the South China Sea. Incidentally, India's closeness with Philippines is good for the former's hold over the South China Sea. 

ASEAN reach

The reach of the ASEAN countries in Beijing, Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul, Washington are commendable and cannot be achieved by a nation single-handedly. In fact the conglomerate makes it hard for China or USA to isolate a country in South East Asia. 

Needless to say, the present move by the Indian government will ensure a tie, strong enough to combat the superpowers in the world, ensuring a stable position for India in the global scene. 

• india
• narendra modi