The Hindu : Pitching for a larger role in S-E Asia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 13, 2002

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Pitching for a larger role in S-E Asia

By Amit Baruah

BANGKOK APRIL 12. The joint patrolling of the Malacca Straits by American and Indian naval vessels is clear indication that India has decided to raise its profile in South-East Asia.

Given the fact that during the Cold Wr, India was one of the targets of ASEAN attack over its policy of supporting the Vietnamese, and the only country to recognise the Heng Samrin regime in Cambodia outside the Soviet bloc during the 1980s, the current Indo-American convergence of interests is a new strategic factor in the politics of the region.

The Government of India, before taking this decision on joint patrolling, had sought the views of Indonesia and Malaysia, two key players in regional affairs. Others were apparently not sounded out in advance; presumably the Americans may have conducted a similar exercise.

Those familiar with the decision in Indian official circles told this correspondent that they are aware that such joint patrolling is bound to be taken note of by other players, especially China.

In South-East Asia, the Americans are involved in a military "exercise'' on Basilan island along with Filipino troops to flush out Abu Sayyaf guerrillas — their most direct engagement after September 11 — in any part of the world.

As of now, the Indian decision to patrol the Malacca Straits, along with the Americans, will be seen as unwelcome by the Chinese. Whether stated publicly or not, the Chinese see themselves as major players in this part of the world and are unlikely to appreciate a higher Indian profile.

From the Indian point of view, the joint patrolling and greater engagement with South-East Asia is being seen as an opportunity to break out of the confines of South Asia. Indian foreign policy-makers obviously find themselves frustrated by the hurdles in South Asia. In fact, as India moves for greater cooperation with South-East Asia, the "South Asian entity'' is missing — just India is in the picture.

It can be legitimately argued that South Asia, despite SAARC, has little to show by way of a cooperative framework and has yet to resolve some of the more contentious issues dividing its member-states.

However, in this day and age, when regional blocs are the order of the day and carry considerable clout, the inability of South Asia to assert itself as a regional entity is unlikely to be helpful to India in the long run. After the shrill rhetoric emanating from New Delhi about China prior to the May 1998 nuclear tests, the relationship between the two countries now appears to be more settled. India is also for raising the level of dialogue between the two countries — a visit by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, is expected by the end of the year.

It was pointed out that right through the Kargil conflict and the latest movement of Indian troops from east to west, the Chinese have not done anything which could have been seen as provocative.

Clearly, India doesn't see any immediate problems in its relationship with Beijing, but is watching out for the future course of Chinese foreign policy in the context of accelerating economic growth.

Delivering a lecture in Singapore on April 9, Mr. Vajpayee said the Asia-Pacific region was one of the "focal points of India's foreign policy, strategic concerns and economic interests''. The Prime Minister also made it plain that India was not seeking favours from any quarter as it pushed ahead with raising its level of interaction with South-East Asia.

It was, as Mr. Vajpayee put it, important for others in the region to recognise "manifest political and economic realities''. As home to one billion people, India has to "be integral to any regional process pertaining to the Asia-Pacific''.

``India's belonging to the Asia-Pacific community is a geographical fact and a political reality. It does not require formal membership of any regional organisation for its recognition or sustenance,'' the Prime Minister said during his Singapore lecture.

As India pitches for a larger role in this part of the world, it must also repeatedly show that engagement is not a luxury to be indulged in when domestic politics allows for foreign travel. And, if you want to show that there is merit in spreading India's wings beyond South Asia, you must also be able to prove to the rest of the world that India is a stable entity, where extremist forces of the kind that have run riot in Gujarat, are firmly in check.

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