A simple note on India and ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an organisation established in 1967 by five South Asian countries. The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand signed a document that put forth the ideologies of the association. The general idea was to adhere to the United Nations Charter rules of social, economical, political, educational, and other fields for promotional values. The association only focusses on the South Asian countries to which India is a signatory. India has a multi-faceted and established relationship with ASEAN because of the growth it has achieved. India first became a member of ASEAN during the early 90s, the years when India’s economic condition saw a boost. 

Objectives of ASEAN

ASEAN deems to promote a very healthy community amongst the countries and in case of any conflicts, it aims to solve them through peaceful manners, therefore reducing the chances of violence being provoked. This community is called the ASEAN security community. It also has an economic community that focusses on economic prosperity amongst the South Asian countries. It involves trade practices, exchange rates, investments, etc. According to the ASEAN Vision policy of 2020, the socio-cultural community deals with inter-social cultural relationships. It focusses on sectors like livelihood, living conditions, participation of disadvantaged groups, like women, underprivileged people, etc.

ASEAN and India 

India, during the 90s, had a dynamic shift in its economic conditions. The government introduced a lot of policies and, at the same time, laid off some policies. India’s journey with ASEAN started with the “Look East Policy,” which deals with the Liberalisation Policy India brought up in 1991. This policy aims to be strategic toward the Republic of China concerning economic gains by having allied with the South Asian countries. India was a sectoral partner in 1992, dialogue partner in 1996, and summit level partner in 2002. Throughout the years, the Look East Policy has grown into an action-oriented Act East Policy. 

To develop its relationship with the ASEAN countries, India has also been an active member in attending other South Asian summits like Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+), and Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF).

India values its partnership with the ASEAN countries as it is a matter of foreign policy and deals with foreign trade practices and exchanges. This relationship promotes the economic growth of India for foreign relations. 

India has a separate mission with ASEAN, and it is located in Jakarta, which also has its own ambassador. India celebrated 25 years of partnership with ASEAN in 2018. India has been a summit representative for 15 years. India conducted a summit during the 69th Republic Day, which was attended by all the eleven countries, and was a very proud moment for India. 

Economic, Social, Political Security of India After a partnership with ASEAN

• India is the fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN, and it has shown abominable growth in economic conditions. There has been a steady improvement in India’s economic conditions. India’s trade with ASEAN has an overall value of US$ 81.33 billion, which is almost 11% of the country’s entire commerce. India’s exports to ASEAN countries are approx 12% of the country’s produce. Investments within both economic bodies are bilateral. The inflow and outflow of FDI have stable characteristics. FDI inflows into India from ASEAN nations totalled US$ 68.91 billion from April 2000 to March 2018 and FDI outflows totalled up to US$ 38.672 billion from April 2007 to March 2015. India signed a trade policy called “The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement,” which aimed to reduce trade duties up to 76.4% Although it only focusses on goods, in 2014, India became a part of “the ASEAN-India Trade in Service Agreement” and “The ASEAN-India Investment Agreement” to have a regulation on services and investments of the country. The next target for the India-ASEAN community is to improve the private sector and show significant growth. 
• India’s socio-cultural growth in ASEAN has been a great success lately. India has been very promising in maintaining relations with ASEAN countries and interacting globally. Various programs have been conducted by both bodies to improve their social conditions. One noticeable program is the student exchange program, in which students of both bodies go to other nations to pursue their interests for a while. On July 18, 2018, the ASEAN-India Workshop on Blue Economy, co-hosted by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, took place in New Delhi for the second time. 
• It is very common to develop political scare or violence-oriented relations among foreign countries, especially when trade is involved. But India’s collaboration with ASEAN has shown cooperative, radical communications leading to peaceful trade practices. India has also been an active participant in ASEAN’s summits regarding political affairs and lies in cooperation with the same. The ASEAN’s Defence Ministers Meeting focusses on defence consultations, and brings together all the defence ministers of all the member countries along with Australia, Russia, the United States of America, China, New Zealand, etc. 

Projects of India and ASEAN

India has participated in various projects of ASEAN. The projects predominantly focus on agricultural development, science, technology, climate change, renewable energy, human resources development, etc. India has been supporting ASEAN by training CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam) countries in the English language, law enforcement, and business investments, and providing grants to foreign universities for educational development. 

India and ASEAN – 2022

• India’s second Digital Ministers Meeting was held in January 2022. The discussions were majorly around India’s contribution to Vietnam’s technological growth, Wi-Fi access to the entirety of the nation, advancement to the 5G network, satellite communication, future trends for mobile communication, digital health, cybercrime issues, etc. 
• Evolving Strategic Architecture in Indo-Pacific: Perspectives from India and ASEAN occurred on 18 February 2022 and dealt with organising 5 virtual meetings to improve the Indian-ASEAN relationship. In this meeting, Act East Policy was discussed and digital health, promotion of MSMEs, sustainable development, etc. were covered. Indo-Pacific relations were also given importance.
• A high-level conference was also held with respect to renewable energy on 7 and 8th February 2022. 

Conclusion

As a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, India has shown tremendous growth and inspiring relations with the ASEAN country bodies. ASEAN aims to promote economic, social, and cultural growth in the South Asian countries while partnering up with various other western countries as well. By being diverse, ASEAN deals with internal conflicts strategically and helps its member countries prosper and maintain integrity.