The Hindu : `India most vulnerable to external threat in Asia'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 22, 2002

International

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`India most vulnerable to external threat in Asia'

SINGAPORE APRIL 21. India is perceived as the `most vulnerable country in Asia' in terms of external threat, while Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and Vietnam were the least exposed, a regional survey has said.

The Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) surveyed more than 1,000 foreign businessmen in 13 Asian countries asking them how they perceived external threat to affect business environment in their places of operations. ``The most notable feature of the overall scores was that India was the only country wherein such risks were perceived to be very high,'' it said in its latest Asian Intelligence Survey and Analysis. ``It was vulnerable to fallout from social instability in other countries (Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan) and its diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries (notably Pakistan) were very strained at the time of the survey.''

On a scale of zero to 10, with 10 the worst possible grade, India scored 8.22.

Taiwan, which faces a military threat from China, was second with 5.19. Philippines came in third with 4.96 trailed by Indonesia with 4.67.

— AFP

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