A positive signal

INDIA'S ADMISSION INTO the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia Pacific (CSCAP), as a national member, comes as yet another welcome signal from the region for enhanced interaction with New Delhi. Barely two years ago, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum chose to leave out India while expanding its membership. Russia, Peru and Vietnam were taken into the fold and its membership frozen again for another 10 years. That was unfortunate not only for India, but for APEC too. Now that the after-effects of Pokhran-II have died down and the Indo-American dialogue has acquired a new dimension, it comes as no surprise that New Delhi is being welcomed into CSCAP now. Though it is only a second-track forum for both academics and officials from major countries in the Asia Pacific region, the Council provides a real testing ground for new initiatives and thought processes. Invariably, think-tanks from the CSCAP countries bounce their ideas here before taking them into the formal or official platforms, the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) for instance. Many retired diplomats, strategic analysts and academics dealing with security issues use this forum to keep in touch with developments in the region. It provides an ideal vehicle for informal exchanges and consultations.

The CSCAP leaves out the Indochina countries, except for Vietnam, and does not include Latin America either. ASEAN and APEC are at the core of this, on the second track. With the U.S., China, the European Union and Japan already in it, the Council provides a useful platform to discuss security related issues without political or Governmental inhibitions. Since the Governments will be sending in their national delegation to participate in the deliberations, it has a quasi-official status. Though India is already a part of the ARF, its entry into CSCAP was considered essential to keep track of the developments at the informal level. It will now be possible to play a role in shaping the discussions at that stage before an issue is pushed up to the official or ministerial level for deliberation. A whole range of security problems continue to cause concern to Governments in the region - from Kashmir and Jaffna, to Indonesia, the Koreas and more recently the coups in a couple of the South Pacific islands. This is in addition to the festering dispute on territorial claims over some of the Spratly islands in the South China Sea, the cross-straits tensions between China and Taiwan and the resurgence of pan-Islamic fundamentalism as well as militancy in parts of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Instead of always leaving it to Governments to handle some of these sensitive issues, it does help to discuss the emerging problems or security threats at an informal level which would facilitate new ideas or approaches. For instance, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have to jointly deal with the problem of Islamic militancy. Rather than have Governments directly confront the problems, strategists and academics may be in a better position to go into the real issues and come up with solutions that can then be presented to Governments. From India's viewpoint, membership of CSCAP provides another entry point into the Asia Pacific platform. Without being obsessed with the `low profile' approach to regional and international fora, the Indian delegation to the Council must be able to make its participation effective and productive - not only presenting a national perspective on issues, but trying to understand the import of all the regional issues or problems. The admission into CSCAP clearly shows that India is being taken seriously and will have an increasingly larger role to play in regional and international bodies.

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