Building a strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean), India has become closer with a region experiencing robust
economic growth.
India and the 10-member Asean
concluded a two-day summit in honour of their 20-year relationship on Friday.
They reached a free trade
agreement in services and investments and vowed to improve air and land links.
India launched a "Look East
Policy" in the early 1990s to push trade links with Asean, an approach
interpreted by some observers as encircling China.
India-Asean cooperation has been
dominated by economic concerns, but political and strategic intentions against
a rising China have become more obvious since the beginning of the century,
said Sun Shihai, an expert on Indian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Sun said India's partnership with
Asean should not be interpreted as a move that infringes on China's interests.
India's participation in
Southeast Asia will also largely expand the market between China and Asean,
bringing in a great opportunity for economic cooperation and regional
integration, Sun said.
What is important is that India
and China should build strategic mutual trust, he added.
Despite frequent high-level
visits and enormous trade volume, border issues between the two neighbours are
unresolved.
China's trade with Asean
countries is far greater than India's, but India's trade with Asean is
increasing.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh said he is optimistic that trade with Asean will exceed US$100 billion by
2015 and US$200 billion by 2022.
If the markets of China, India
and Asean join together in free trade and investment, all three will benefit,
said Hu Shisheng, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of
Contemporary International Relations.
Hu said India's partnership with
Asean highlights the country's initiative to integrate into the Asia-Pacific
region.
In addition to economic
cooperation, the two sides also decided to intensify maritime security
cooperation and underline the need for freedom of navigation.
According to AFP, Vietnamese
Premier Nguyen Tan Dung asked for New Delhi's direct intervention into South
China Sea territorial disputes.
Some Asean countries, the
Philippines and Vietnam in particular, have ignited territorial disputes with
China over parts of the South China Sea.
Indian Foreign Minister Salman
Khurshid insisted the territorial disputes between China and Southeast Asian
nations did not require India's intervention.
"India will not easily
involve itself in the islands dispute between China and Asean economies,"
said Sun, noting that "collaboration between India and Asean on maritime
security was largely India's strategic posture as a countermeasure to China's
emerging influence in the Indian Ocean".
Cheng Guangjin
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