The Hindu : PM for ASEAN-India free trade area

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 06, 2002

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PM for ASEAN-India free trade area

By P. S. Suryanarayana

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, being received by King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia for a State banquet at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on Monday. — PTI

PHNOM PENH Nov. 5. The first summit between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations today registered a perfect take-off, even as the Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong, a long-time advocate of intensive links between New Delhi and the regional organisation, described the event as the acquisition of full-fledged capabilities by the jumbo-aircraft called ASEAN.

The ASEAN joined India in issuing a highly upbeat statement on this new dialogue process. The strategic vision of this new linkage at the highest level would be translated into a reality through "concrete programmes of cooperation'' that would "comprehensively'' combat "non-traditional security threats'', inclusive of terrorism, within the framework of the existing ASEAN Regional Forum.

Informed sources told The Hindu that the anti-terror cooperation, in the present context of the "threat'' to South East Asia from the Jemaah Islamiyah, might be channelled, at this stage, along bilateral lines between India and the countries concerned.

The ASEAN-India summit will now be held every year, although New Delhi will still remain outside the ambit of the ASEAN-plus caucus that keeps the organisation proactively engaged with China as also Japan and South Korea within a collective framework. The next annual ASEAN-India summit is scheduled to be held in Bali, Indonesia.

With New Delhi fashioning a metaphoric wing of the ASEAN jumbo-jet, the other wing having been crafted by the organisation's East Asian neighbours, today's summit here between India and the Association acquired political and economic overtones that surpassed the symbolism of the event. The ASEAN today held separate meetings with Japan and South Korea, too, while the ASEAN-China summit and the ASEAN+3 conclave, involving these three East Asian neighbours of the outfit, took place on Monday.

New Delhi sought to match China and Japan by offering to move towards the creation of an ASEAN-India free trade area. China and the ASEAN inked on Monday a framework agreement for a free trade zone that could, if it materialises, down-size all other multilateral entities of this kind in about 10 years. Japan and the ASEAN today entered into a "comprehensive economic partnership'', with the Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, playing the ace of a survivable economic superpower.

While India and the ASEAN evinced considerable interest in cooperating with each other in the ongoing global campaign against international terrorism, the defining parameter of the emerging new equation between the two sides at the highest political level was the joint move to firm up economic linkages.

The summit provided impetus for an exercise, already under way, to intensify economic cooperation between the two sides. Gaining the attention of the ASEAN was the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's suggestion that this exercise be enlarged to explore avenues to the creation of an ASEAN-India free trade area in about a decade.

With the crystal-gaze predictions of the ASEAN-India summit largely holding good as today's event unfolded, there were no real surprises of the political kind.

No new dimension was added, though, to the range of economic ties between the two sides, with the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, commending a synergised two-way model.

While India was now helping Malaysia in the railways sector, Kuala Lumpur was involved in India's highways projects in a matching fashion. India's expertise in high-tech areas, including space-related economic applications, was valued by the ASEAN.

Outlining the broad thrust of the summit, the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, dismissed suggestions that India was seeking to play out a smart-strategy cameo to offset China's dragon-like grip over South East Asia and that New Delhi was eager to upset Beijing's strategic applecart, either on India's own initiative or at the behest of the ASEAN itself.

According to Mr. Sinha, mutuality of interests alone determined the ASEAN-India dynamic.

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