With the emergence of new geo-political equations, ASEAN countries can act as a game changer, particularly because a big power like the US has shown interest in the region. India can be at the forefront of this, given the accretion in its economic and military capabilities

Analysts believe that India today is in a better position to realise the dream of its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, of Asian resurgence and solidarity in the Indo-Pacific region, as there has been serious accretion to the country’s economic and military capabilities. In the present perspective, the broader policy-level challenge for India in the Indo-Pacific region is to cope with the uncertainty precipitated by the Sino-US rivalry that is gradually preparing a base for trade wars between the two nations.

It was India who invented the lexicon of diplomacy in the post-colonial age. Nehru promoted the idea of non-alignment and turned it into the focal point of India’s foreign policy. Since then, the search for conflict resolution and world peace has remained the central objective of India’s foreign policy. Recently, at a security conclave by Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid recalled the historic Bandung Conference 1955, where 29 Asian-African nations, including China, signed the Panchsheel Pact, that was incorporated into the Ten Principles of International Peace and Cooperation enunciated in the declaration issued at the conference. The pact focussed on five major principles of territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference, peaceful co-existence and equality, which became a magnet for Afro-Asian solidarity against white supremacy. 

Africa has also played a vital political role in India’s neighbourhood-first policy. India supported Africa’s anti-colonial struggle and worked closely in the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) and the G77. With the growing demand for energy, Africa became a major partner for India post-1991. New Delhi has shown interest in the region by sending troops for United Nation peacekeeping missions. “But there is still a lot to be done and we can learn from history,” the former Minister said referring to the Bandung Conference.

Emphasising regional grouping, Khurshid said that several countries in the Indian Ocean Rim are willing to stand with India. In such a scenario, the relevance of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), G20 and other regional associations is pivotal.

During the CENJOWS conclave on ‘India and the new multilateral order’, observers and analysts debated on policies in projecting Indian influence in the neighbourhood and beyond. In an overall assessment, geo-political observers believe that the Bandung Conference was a key element in the evolution of Nehru’s Non-Alignment Policy.

Regarding the security and economy of the region, India has always played a major role, be it in Vietnam, Indonesia or the African continent. Even before its Independence, the country was involved in the freedom struggle of Indonesia against the Dutch and supported that country on July 30, 1947 by raising the issue at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

In January 1947, before India’s Independence, the All-India Student Federation had declared a day to be Vietnam Day. There was a huge strike in Kolkata, which was met with police repression and firing. Two students died and one student, Ranamitra Sen, was shot in the leg.

Minh, a Vietnam revolutionary and politician, who later became the President of the country, also participated in the Bandung Conference and visited India in 1958. During that sojourn, Minh met Ranamitra Sen after learning that he was in the audience at one of his gatherings and embraced him.

India’s participation in the freedom struggle of countries like Vietnam and Indonesia was highly recognised at different platforms in early September when the world marked Minh’s death anniversary.

Now, these countries can act as a game-changer for India’s influence in the region with the support of the Vietnamese Navy and by utilising the Sabang military base in Indonesia for trade and military engagements.

The rise of China at the global level resulted in changes in the international order. India has traditionally been termed as China’s rival and is one of the few nations in Asia to refuse to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Hence where regional power equations are concerned, the Indian Ocean is of strategic importance to both, especially in terms of trade.

 Academicians and strategic affairs experts at the conference remarked that India’s policy is focused on multi-alignment, keeping the neighbourhood first and seeking a common approach towards security, economic equity and eliminating terrorism to maintain peace in the region. This is because India’s experience in 1965 was bitter, when India’s closet NAM friends showed unconditional support to Pakistan by supplying military weapons at the height of war. Learning from history, India signed the Indo-Soviet treaty in 1971 as non- alignment left India lonely.

The more recent South-South Cooperation (SSC) experienced rapid growth as in 2016 alone, more than 500 projects were kicked off under the SSC framework with the participation of 120 countries. 

 With the emergence of new geo-political equations, ASEAN countries can act as a game changer, particularly because a big power like the USA has shown interest in the region. A few weeks ago, Vietnam participated in the first US-ASEAN Maritime Exercise (AUMX), which took place in the Gulf of Thailand from September 2 to 6. Eight warships, four aircraft and all ten ASEAN countries took part in AUMX that started at the Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand and ended in Singapore. Interestingly, this naval exercise came amid tensions between Washington and Beijing, over the South China Sea and trade.

 Thailand, a close US ally, has a formal relationship with India. In the past, when Nehru convened an 18-nation conference, on Indonesia, Thailand refused to participate as it never had to face colonial oppression like India, Myanmar and the rest of Southeast Asian countries. 

As a strategic relevance, Indian leaders were always firm and believed in the idea of Asian nationalism and disapproved the idea of a power vacuum keeping the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) in mind.

Meanwhile, the prevailing atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific region will dissipate under a stable and peaceful strategic order. The real challenge for both India and China, who are together creating an Asian century, is in the strategic context at a time when they are facing serious bilateral as well as regional issues.

(The writer is Principal Correspondent, The Pioneer)