ASEAN nations turning to India to counter-balance China’s aggressive position on territorial disputes.
Reuters: “Southeast Asian leaders are expected to lay out a vision for closer cooperation with India on security and the economy at a high-level gathering in New Delhi at a time of tension with China in the potentially oil- and gas-rich South China Sea.
The meeting is a ceremonial summit to mark 20 years of cooperation with India and will not include detailed negotiations on regional issues, India’s Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid told Reuters.
But ministry officials said the leaders would also produce a statement which is expected to reiterate a commitment to freedom of navigation, a hot issue because of territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.
Some ASEAN countries contest claims by China in the waters, making it the biggest potential flashpoint in the region. The United States has called for calm, but some are also looking to India, the other regional heavyweight, to get involved.
“They want India to play a larger role. Those concerns are only increasing given the uncertain situation that is emerging,” said C. Raja Mohan, a strategic affairs expert at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank.
For India, improved relations with Southeast Asia will give it entry into one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world and a source of raw materials needed for its own growth.
Poor there are poor transport links between India and the nations to its southeast, and constraints like India’s tiny diplomatic corps – similar in size to New Zealand’s – mean India trails China in relations with the region.
Trade between India and the 10-member ASEAN was up to $80 billion last year compared with $47 billion in 2008. An agreement on free trade in services and investment could be signed at the New Delhi meeting.
But India’s role in the region is dwarfed by that of China, which enjoyed trade worth a record $363 billion with ASEAN countries in 2011 in an already established free trade area.
“What we need is far greater connectivity,” Khurshid said in an interview with Reuters, mentioning roads, railways and flights as areas needing work. He described a 10-year plan to double the number of diplomats to reflect India’s global ambitions.”
via Amid China tensions, Southeast Asia looks to India | Reuters.
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