India's Look-East Policy - Targets China, says commentator

Yusuf

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Usually we curse our leaders of not having strategic foresight, but quietly india has done pretty well to turn good bilateral relations to strategic relations. In that list we may well add singapore and australia as well. India should look to get malaysia on board as well. we share good relations with thailand too. All this under the watch of Uncle will surely make sure China will not be a big player in the IOR.
 

sesha_maruthi27

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Nice to see INDIA trying to develop strategic partnership with the countries neighbouring CHINA. At last INDIA has something which will be of a great concern to CHINA.:emot112:
 

Singh

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We can reduce the SoP's stranglehold with tremendous efforts but it will be impossible to break the string of pearls. What we need to do as per Nitin Pai of NI, is to adopt a mirror strategy. We should develop a String of Pearls around China to put pressure.

Some links of his arguments.
The Acorn » The Indira Doctrine is dead
The Acorn » The Asian Balance: Recognising good neighbours
East of Singapore - Yahoo! India

Right now East Asia feels threatened by China, so it is a great opportunity for us to capitalize, later as we expand and grow and the lure of our economy becomes too strong we can integrate our neighbours further to ourselves.
 

Oracle

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/\/\/\ Also, if we look back in time, we did not have the financial muscle to put points across. With time, we will reach greater heights.
 

Iamanidiot

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Sri lanka will not be a pearl in the string it know the consequences of being one
 

Yusuf

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Chinas string of pearls rely on with all due respects lowly nations that china has bought over with its huge reserves. It would be interesting to see if they would have the stomach to be the field on which two great powers fight. I would imagine that the answer to that to be a no. On the other hand, india is dealing with some very advanced countries in Japan, SK, Australia, Singapore and also a country which gave china a bloody nose in Vietnam. I think Indias strategy will win. Anyways I never regarded the string of pearls to be a military threat to india.
 

shuvo@y2k10

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the chinese are already building ports in ior region and we are still in the phase of visiting ministers ,military exercises and talks of frienship and co-operations with our east asian neighbours.firstly india must derocognize tibet and taiwan as part of china like the chinese have done in case of kashmir.
 

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Look East Policy — millennia apart

Look East Policy — millennia apart


File photo of a Nalanda Mentor Group meeting in New Delhi. The East Asia Summit in Hanoi offers a chance to consider ideas for enabling a modern-day land link between the Indo-China region and India, with the proposed Nalanda University as a backdrop, for intensified people-to-people contact.

It is time to take our Look East Policy to a new level. The continuous meeting and intermingling of people from diverse social backgrounds will help in crafting a liberal and cosmopolitan attitude to life.

The year 2010 marks the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Hanoi as a capital by Emperor Ly Thai To, whose statue adorns the centre of the city. The year and the attendant celebrations would be a proud recollection for the people of Vietnam, and Hanoi in particular. At the end of this month, Hanoi will host a summit of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations and the East Asia Summit. India will participate in both meetings.

We have come a long way since the first India-ASEAN summit held in 2002 in Phnom Penh. We are now on course to host the 10th such summit in 2012, presumably in New Delhi. In this backdrop, we can assess what can be done in the overall context of our Look East policy in general, keeping the Nalanda University project as a focus.

In January 2007, at the Cebu meeting of the EAS, the member-states reached an understanding on strengthening regional educational cooperation. As part of this, they welcomed the initiative for the revival of Nalanda University. This was the culmination of an idea conceived by the Bihar government and given shape later by Singapore. In March 2006, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam addressed the joint session of the Bihar Assembly and exhorted it to revive the ancient seat of learning in Nalanda where science, philosophy, spirituality and social sciences could be blended. The Bihar government introduced a Bill in the Assembly in 2007 and cleared it to establish this great university. The Nalanda project became the face of an emerging Bihar.

In the middle of 2006, a proposal was received from the Singapore government called "The Nalanda Proposal." According to this, Nalanda would be the ideal site for establishing a 21st century learning institution linking South and East Asia. The idea envisaged simultaneous upgrading of the infrastructure to promote tourism, and establishing a university at Nalanda to offer higher education facilities, thereby enabling all-inclusive economic development of the entire region.

In order to carry forward the proposals, a Nalanda Mentor Group (NMG), under the chairmanship of Professor Amartya Sen, was established by the Government of India in 2007. The group examined the framework of international cooperation and the structure of partnership, which would govern the establishment of the university. It also made proposals for the revival of Nalanda and the governance structure of the university, and other aspects covering finance, areas of study, etc. The NMG's recommendations were to be endorsed by the EAS leaders through a declaration to take the process forward. However, owing to unforeseen developments in Thailand in 2008 and early 2009, the fourth EAS was delayed. At the last EAS, held in Hua Hin in Thailand in October 2009, the leaders endorsed and extended their support for the establishment of Nalanda University.

The NMG completed its work in the first half of this year. In the recent monsoon session, Parliament passed the Nalanda University Bill, thereby making available a legal basis for going ahead with the implementation of the project. Thus the forthcoming fifth EAS is uniquely important for India. It would give us an opportunity to share the approach to be adopted for the construction of the university. It would also give us an occasion to maintain and intensify interest in the project among the participating countries. Given that civil construction projects in India have an inertial impetus of their own, it is necessary for us to keep the idea alive. It is important that facilities and opportunities be provided to the academic community, including students in EAS countries, to keep itself aware of what is happening on the Nalanda front.

The Hanoi EAS offers us a chance to consider ideas for enabling a modern-day land link between the Indo-China region and India, with the proposed university as a backdrop, for intensified people-to-people contact. Initially, we could focus on each of the five countries in the Indo-China region that abuts India — , Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar — which also have a strong Buddhist tradition. This land link could be projected as a means of access and exposure for students, academics, pilgrims and tourists as a special feature of our relations with Southeast Asia in general and the countries mentioned above in particular.

To buttress or land links with the ASEAN region and beyond, we could consider introducing a monthly bus service for about 100 pilgrims who, for reasons of economy, health, etc., may prefer, or be induced, to undertake surface travel. We can utilise the recently opened Asian Highway (AH16) from Da Nang in central Vietnam to Mae Sot on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

After traversing Yangon and Mandalay, and collecting pilgrims in Myanmar, the bus could enter India and come to Gaya. They could visit Nalanda, Rajgir and Sarnath and other places of Buddhist studies in Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. If Bangladesh is convinced to allow passage for these visitors, they can reach Kolkata much faster before going on a pilgrimage and to academic centres across India. It may not be too difficult for India to convince Myanmar authorities to join the initiative. After all, General Than Shwe himself visited Gaya and its environs recently. The ordinary pilgrim's travel would be a very symbolic representation of people-to-people cooperation.

India could even consider donating some modern, long haul buses and have the flagging off of a bus convoy in Hue, cultural capital of Vietnam, so that it can reach Gaya or Nalanda after collecting academics and pilgrims en route. It could be scheduled to arrive in the week of the India-ASEAN Summit in 2012.

With Nalanda University acting as a beacon, regular visits by academics, pilgrims, students and tourists would compel us to focus not only on sticking to a schedule but also maintaining interest in all sides in the revival of the university project. The suggested land link will give it a historic and spiritual character.

One thousand years ago when Hanoi was being established, the Chola dynasty in peninsular India reached its pinnacle. One of its most powerful symbols, the Brihadeeshwara Temple in Thanjavur, also observed its 1000th anniversary this year. The Chola dynasty is the principal among those that consolidated and benefited by the original and proactive Look East Policy. The Cholas established strong maritime and commercial connections with countries and kingdoms to the southeast and east of India. Nagapattinam was the port from where all trade and other links were serviced with the kingdoms all the way up to, and including, China. As Professor K.A. Nilakanta Sastri states in his work, The Cholas: "At no time had Indian merchants ever ceased to frequent the shores of the Malay Peninsula and the islands of the archipelago, even Indo-china and China ... Towards the ninth century A.D. the countries of Southern Asia had developed an extensive maritime and commercial activity, and attained a prosperity unequalled in history."

It is perhaps time to take our Look East Policy to a new dimension. The continuous meeting and intermingling of people from diverse social backgrounds helps in crafting a liberal and cosmopolitan attitude to life. An overland connection to Nalanda, just as Nagapattinam thrived on an aqueous connection, could be the first step in our journey of the next thousand years. India is ideally placed to spur a movement catalysed by spirituality, to reach an ancient destination in the new millennium — a place that set ancient India apart as a pioneer in higher education.

(The writer is a former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He was India's Ambassador to Vietnam between 2004 and 2006.)

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Look East Policy — millennia apart
 

Tshering22

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^^ China is building civil ports for refueling their commercial ships in SL, Bangladesh and Burma. In the event of a war, they cannot use these bases for military purposes even if they want because then these countries will also be a target for our military forces and Navy fighters would be bombing these bases if used for military purposes by our threat. None of the countries above mentioned are interested in getting involved in a war between 2 bigger countries. Neither CCP has announced this as official military bases nor SL, BNG or Burma have any taste for confrontation.

Building civilian strategic ports is pure business right of every country and something which we haven't utilized yet. We can counter if not by building ports but enhancing our own ship building industries by inviting more and more private sectors. If China can provide ports to these countries, let us provide cost-effective yet state of the art ships to these countries. This would simply even up the balance between us and the Chinese help to these countries and hence would force them to turn neutral in case a war takes place between the 2 of us. Remember, we don't need to exactly make a country our puppet state to be called successful; ensuring that they stay neutral in a possible combat scenario is sufficient as it weans off support to our perceived threat as well.

To counter ports, export ships to the same clients. This benefit might not be so visible now but 10 year down the lane, GOI would see its positive effects. India offers almost unlimited potential for ship-building and exporting industry with our peninsular structure, sizable ports, a strong technical work force and economic growth. With European and American countries suffering economic crisis, this is the perfect opportunity to join and compete against Asian ship builders and create a niche market for ourselves, as well as ensuring political clout in the region. After all, military is not the only way to gaining political muscle.
 

Yusuf

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Tshering, you have to understand the context in which I use that term. That's why I added with all due respects, I mean what is SL,BD,Pak compared to India? Yes we are not well advanced ourselves but in the big picture, we are big. And guess what China calls India lowly too that is their arrogance.
 

Tshering22

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Beautiful article that stresses the importance of building up ties even more seriously than it has been approached all these years. The point of Look East Policy is to show the Dragon that we can have a group of friends in their backyard as well and that their diplomatic successes in South Asia are not something unique and phenomenal. LEP not just strengthens our counter-Dragon stance but also gives us the chance to re-establish millenia old ties with our former client states and even national provinces of olden ages in southeast Asia.

The problem however is to first make sure that insurgent groups are massacred and cleared off from Northeast before permitting this kind of highway linkages with Southeast because more foreign pilgrims and tourists by road would mean fresh hostage situation opportunities for the terrorists to make their demands stronger. Therefore, GOI and the Burmese junta should jointly conduct massive military strikes both ground and air using extensive satellite technology for getting to these rebel hideouts and annihilating them to clear the path for safe religious tourism and people-to-people contact from here in India to Southeast countries.
 

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Antony to Attend Asean Defence Ministers Meeting in Hanoi | India Defence Online

ndia Defence Online, New Delhi — The Defence Minister AK Antony will leave New Delhi on Sunday for a four-day visit to Vietnam to attend the first ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus at Hanoi next week. Shri Antony will be accompanied by a high level delegation including the Defence Secretary Shri Pradeep Kumar and representatives of the Services.

It may be recalled that during the Fourth ADMM held in last May, the ASEAN Defence Ministers agreed to establish an ADMM-Plus forum comprising the 10 ASEAN countries and 8 non-ASEAN countries namely, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.

A press release issued by the Indian defence ministry said the ADMM-Plus seeks to address the regional peace and security challenges by providing balanced and inclusive security architecture for the region as a whole and provide opportunities to build mutual trust and confidence among the defence establishments of the ASEAN and the Plus countries.

We view our participation in the ADMM-Plus deliberations as an aspect of our Look –East Policy and the larger objective of our integration with the region.

On the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus, Antony will also have bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of other countries. His visit to Vietnam will also be an opportunity for a series of bilateral meetings with the Vietnamese Defence Minister Gen Phung Quang Thanh and other Vietnamese leaders for discussion on issues of mutual interest. Shri Antony had toured Vietnam in December 2007 on a bilateral visit. This was followed by the visit of the Vietnamese Defence Minister to India in November 2009.
 

SHASH2K2

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Defence ministers' meeting opens in Hanoi

Hanoi, Oct 11 (DPA) A meeting of defence ministers from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with eight other countries opened Monday in Hanoi in the shadow of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus includes the 10 ASEAN member states as well as China, the US, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.

Host nation Vietnam said the meeting will focus on shared interests, but observers are watching for clues to relations between the US, China, Japan, and Vietnam, which have been strained recently by maritime territorial disputes.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan called the talks important for resolving disputes in the South China Sea. Beijing has recently intensified its claims to maritime territories also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan.

ASEAN 'must demonstrate to the world that we can manage our own challenges', Pitsuwan said.

Several nations used Monday for bilateral side discussions. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was scheduled to meet with his counterparts from Japan, Vietnam and China.

Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie was scheduled to meet with his Vietnamese counterpart, as well as with Gates.

The general meeting was scheduled for Tuesday. Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh, who chairs the meeting, said last week that the South China Sea dispute was 'not on the agenda'.

Vinh said ASEAN would not allow the meeting to devolve into a 'war of words'.
 

Parthy

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I have a question.. Even if China constructs or upgrades the port in Myanmmar and Srilanka, will it be able to station its Warships in those Harbours?? Will Indian Navy allow for such things to happen.. May be so naive.. just wanted to understand...
 

SHASH2K2

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I have a question.. Even if China constructs or upgrades the port in Myanmmar and Srilanka, will it be able to station its Warships in those Harbours?? Will Indian Navy allow for such things to happen.. May be so naive.. just wanted to understand...
These are commercial ports and shouldn't be used during war time. Moreover these ports are well within range of our planes or navy. These ports are mainly built for exerting enough influence on those countries and mainly to divert or secure resources during wartime as strait of Malacca is where they will be choked to death. During wartime they can use these ports to secure supply line. say a vessel from Srilanka will leave for Myanmar without Chinese flag and we can do nothing about it . They can later transfer those resources from Myanmar to China through Railways.Just a ploy to fool our navy from blocking their ships.
 

Tshering22

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^^ But even then in such a case, an unflagged PLAN ship might still have different coding and detecting signatures than SLN's which means they will be full-time under IN's radars and it could simply be a target of our MiGs and south-based Tejas fighters. During a conflict, there will be 24/7 alertness with even the countries that "cooperated" in such projects meaning that in a worst case scenario, both SL and Myanmar will be also under IN's watch and any signs of military assistance would mean bombs away for these ports as well by Navy fighters and warships.

The point is, mostly a future conflict will be limited to land and short. PLAN knows that it is weak in IOR while we're weak in South China Sea. crossing into each other's areas of expertise will be like stepping on a 1,000 pound landmine.
 

SHASH2K2

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^^ But even then in such a case, an unflagged PLAN ship might still have different coding and detecting signatures than SLN's which means they will be full-time under IN's radars and it could simply be a target of our MiGs and south-based Tejas fighters. During a conflict, there will be 24/7 alertness with even the countries that "cooperated" in such projects meaning that in a worst case scenario, both SL and Myanmar will be also under IN's watch and any signs of military assistance would mean bombs away for these ports as well by Navy fighters and warships.

The point is, mostly a future conflict will be limited to land and short. PLAN knows that it is weak in IOR while we're weak in South China Sea. crossing into each other's areas of expertise will be like stepping on a 1,000 pound landmine.

what if it leaves mid east with Sri lankan flag and then from sri lanka with myanmar flag. They would also try to use Gwadar in Pakistan to ship their material through Train .
 

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PM leaves for three-nation Asia tour

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan on Sunday left for a three-nation tour of Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam to bolster economic ties with partners in East Asia and strengthen India's presence in the region.

The first stop of the weeklong trip is Tokyo, where the prime minister will spend three days for the annual summit meeting with Japan. From the Japanese capital, Manmohan Singh will move to Kuala Lumpur and then to Hanoi, where he will attend the 8th India-Asean and the 5th East Asia Summit.

"The Indian economy is getting increasingly integrated with those of its East Asian partners. PM's three nation tour is organically defined by this process," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters Friday.

With strengthening economic ties underpinning the weeklong trip, India is expected to announce the conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Japan, the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperaton Agreement (CECA) with Malaysia and deliberate on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) at the 16-nation East Asia summit in Vietnam.

The third leg in Hanoi will see the prime minister hold several bilateral meetings with Asian leaders, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

The prime minister returns home on October 30 evening.

Read more: PM leaves for three-nation Asia tour - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ia-tour/articleshow/6802726.cms#ixzz13IEuMFQ5
 

ajtr

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An easterly wind's blowing


India has been struggling with a Look East policy now for three decades. While easy to enunciate, it has been far more difficult for New Delhi to institutionalise and maintain a foreign policy drive that engaged nations along the Pacific Rim, from Japan to China, Singapore to Australia. Such an


engagement would have seemed a no-brainer. These countries have been the drivers of the world economy since the 1970s. It is the success of the original Asian tiger economies, let alone the early industrialisation of Japan or the more recent accomplishments of China which are the inspiration for India's post-1991 liberalisation.
But the Look East policy was often described by impatient, Asian governments as India's "Look East, Look Away" policy because it proved so difficult for India to sustain its engagement. One of the reasons was economic. India is and remains far more protectionist than its East and Southeast Asian counterparts. Until recently, its tariff and investment barriers made it difficult for New Delhi to contemplate any treaty-based economic integration with other parts of Asia. Another was strategic. The Pacific Rim has been dominated by a balance of power game between a cluster of US-backed allies and China. India was wary of being part of this equation. Other Asian countries were uncertain on which side India stood. Finally, India was seen as not having the wherewithal to play a strategic role beyond the Straits of Malacca. All that has changed, especially after a drifting together of India and the US and a growing friction between India and China.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-nation Asia tour, encompassing Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, is indicative of how Indian interests and role in this part of the world have expanded. In Japan, the prime minister will seek to consolidate a burgeoning economic relationship between India and Asia's second largest economy. India is Japan's number one foreign direct investment destination and Japan's plans for improving India's industrial infrastructure could transform India's lagging manufacturing base. In Malaysia,

Dr Singh will inaugurate a relationship almost unrecognisable from what it was even a decade ago. Kuala Lumpur has long been seen as the thorn in the Look East policy. Economics and the image of a new India have turned this around. In Vietnam, India will be part of an East Asian Summit whose roster will now include the US and Australia, countries whose membership India supported as part of a broader policy of constraining Chinese assertiveness. That India is now an Asian power is acknowledged by Asian nations. India should not rest on its laurels. India continues to be alienated from the supply chains that connect the larger Asian economy. It needs to add more military sinews to its strategic vision. But it is clear that the Look East policy today is no longer merely about looking but about doing, influencing and benefiting.
 

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India's presence in East Asia vital to counter China's increasing clout

Prime minister Manmohan Singh's three-nation tour of Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia this week is to give a fillip to India's 'Look East' policy by underscoring the need for greater integration and engagement in diverse fields, particularly trade, between India and East Asia. Singh's bilateral visit to Japan and Malaysia and to Vietnam for the 8th Asean-India summit has made it clear that his government's foreign policy priority will be East and South East Asia which are poised for a sustained economic growth in the 21st century.

This is a time of great turmoil in the Asian strategic landscape and India should make its relevance felt in the region. A two-week stand-off between Japan and China over a boat collision shows the communist state is adopting a more aggressive stance against rivals and US allies in Asia and there may be more tension to come. The US and its allies have already started re-assessing their regional strategies and it is likely that an anti-China balancing act will soon emerge.

China would not have expected that its arrival as the world's second-largest economy would evoke a new robustness in US policy towards China and the Asian region. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton used her visit to Asia to signal unequivocally that the US is unwilling to accept China's push for regional hegemony.
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When Beijing claimed that it now considered its ownership of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea as a "core interest", Clinton countered by proposing that the US will help establish an international mechanism to mediate the overlapping claims of sovereignty between China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia that are littoral states in the South China Sea.

Both Tokyo and New Delhi have made an effort in recent years to put India-Japan ties in high gear. The rise of China in Asia-Pacific and beyond has fundamentally altered the strategic calculus of India and Japan, forcing them to rethink their attitudes towards each other. India's booming economy is making it an attractive trading and business partner for Japan as it tries to get out of its long years of economic stagnation. Japan is also re-assessing its role as a security provider in the region and beyond. India seems willing to acknowledge Japan's centrality in shaping the evolving Asia-Pacific security architecture.

India's ties with Japan have come a long way since May 1998 when a chill had set in after India's nuclear tests with Japan imposing sanctions and suspending its Overseas Development Assistance. Since then, however, the changing strategic milieu in Asia-Pacific has brought the two countries together so much that the last visit of Singh to Japan resulted in the unfolding of a roadmap to transform a low-key relationship into a major strategic partnership. The rise of China is a major factor in the evolution of India-Japan ties as is the US attempt to build India into a major balancer in the region. Both India and Japan are well aware of China's not so subtle attempts at preventing their rise.

An India-Japan civil nuclear pact would be critical in signalling that they would like to build a partnership to bring stability to the region at a time when China is going all out to reward Pakistan with civilian nuclear reactors, putting the entire non-proliferation regime in jeopardy.

Not surprising, therefore, that civil nuclear cooperation, enhancing trade ties and UN reforms dominated the talks that Singh had with his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan. After some initial hiccups and with Singh's personal intervention, the long-awaited Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed.
India will be making a case of its growing presence in the East Asian regional security and economic architecture at the 8th Asean-India Summit in Hanoi where the focus will be on enhancing the integration of the East Asian region with India.

India's free trade agreement with Asean last year committed New Delhi to bring down import tariffs on 80% of the commodities it traded with Asean. This allows India to challenge China's growing penetration of East Asia and prevents India's growing marginalisation in the world's most economically dynamic region. After signing a free trade pact in goods, India and Asean are now engaged in talks to widen the agreement to include services and investments. India hopes to increase its $44-billion trade with the Asean to $50 billion by the end of 2010.

India is pursuing an ambitious policy in East Asia aimed at increasing its regional profile more significantly than before. There is no time to lose as China's presence is already changing the regional landscape and smaller states in the region are now looking to India to act as a balancer in view of China's growing prowess and America's likely retrenchment from the
region in the near future.
 

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