Topic: Bilateral regional and global groupings and agreements involving India
India’s foreign policy has increasingly emphasized its “neighborhood first” and “Act East” policies, leading to a more proactive engagement with regional organizations. BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and the broader Indo-Pacific region represent key theaters for India’s evolving role, driven by aspirations for enhanced regional security and economic synergy. This exploration will delve into the specifics of India’s engagement with these platforms, analyzing their potential to foster stability and prosperity.
– BIMSTEC’s focus on connectivity, trade, and security among littoral states of the Bay of Bengal.
– India’s strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, including maritime security, trade routes, and countering rising hegemonic influences.
– The interplay between BIMSTEC and the Indo-Pacific concept, and how they mutually reinforce or complicate India’s objectives.
– Challenges to deeper integration and cooperation within both BIMSTEC and the Indo-Pacific.
– India’s role as a facilitator and anchor for regional stability and economic growth in these domains.
– Regionalism: The process of cooperation and integration among states within a geographically defined region.
– Connectivity: The physical and digital linkages that facilitate trade, movement of people, and information flow.
– Economic Synergy: The combined effect of economic cooperation exceeding the sum of individual efforts.
– Maritime Security: Ensuring the safety and security of maritime domains, including freedom of navigation, combating piracy, and illegal fishing.
– Geopolitics: The influence of geography on international relations and power dynamics, particularly in the context of the Indo-Pacific.
– Multilateralism: Cooperation among three or more states to address common issues.
India’s role in BIMSTEC has been one of consistent advocacy and a push for greater operationalization. Initially formed in 1997, BIMSTEC has been slower to achieve its potential compared to other regional groupings. India’s renewed focus aims to:
1. Enhance Connectivity: India is a key proponent of improving physical connectivity through projects like the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and port development initiatives. This aims to boost trade and people-to-people contact among member states.
2. Strengthen Economic Cooperation: India champions efforts to liberalize trade and investment within BIMSTEC, pushing for the early conclusion of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement. This would create a larger market and foster economic interdependence.
3. Bolster Security Cooperation: Recognizing shared threats like terrorism, radicalization, and maritime crime, India has been advocating for enhanced cooperation in areas such as disaster management, counter-terrorism, and maritime security. The BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement is a step towards this.
4. Countering Alternative Groupings: BIMSTEC provides India a platform to engage with countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia simultaneously, offering an alternative to China-centric initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Bay of Bengal region.
5. Challenges within BIMSTEC: Despite India’s efforts, BIMSTEC faces challenges like diverse national interests, varying levels of economic development, institutional weaknesses, and the persistent political tensions between some member states (e.g., India-Bangladesh border issues, India-Myanmar relations).
India’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific is more recent and strategically driven, focusing on a “free, open, and inclusive” maritime space. India’s evolving role here is characterized by:
1. Maritime Diplomacy and Security: India is a key architect of the Indo-Pacific concept, promoting it as a shared maritime domain. This involves:
- Freedom of Navigation and Overflight (FONOPs): Asserting the principle of unimpeded maritime passage.
- Multilateral Engagements: Active participation in forums like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) with the US, Japan, and Australia, aimed at enhancing maritime domain awareness, joint exercises, and capacity building.
- Information Sharing: Developing mechanisms for shared intelligence on maritime activities to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy, and other maritime threats.
- Naval Modernization and Diplomacy: Projecting its naval power through joint exercises with regional navies and port calls.
2. Economic Linkages and Connectivity: India is promoting economic synergy through:
- Trade Agreements: Strengthening trade ties with Indo-Pacific nations.
- Infrastructure Development: Aligning its infrastructure initiatives with regional connectivity goals, though often in a more cautious, less debt-intensive manner than BRI.
- Digital Connectivity: Fostering partnerships in the digital space.
3. Balancing Power Dynamics: The Indo-Pacific is a theater for strategic competition, particularly with China’s increasing assertiveness. India seeks to:
- Counter Hegemonic Influence: By building partnerships and promoting a rules-based order, India aims to prevent any single power from dominating the region.
- Secure Trade Routes: The Indo-Pacific is vital for India’s trade and energy security, with critical sea lanes passing through the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.
4. Synergy between BIMSTEC and Indo-Pacific: BIMSTEC can be viewed as a sub-regional construct within the broader Indo-Pacific. Enhanced connectivity and economic cooperation in BIMSTEC can positively impact India’s Indo-Pacific vision by:
- Strengthening Bay of Bengal as a Strategic Hub: Making the Bay of Bengal more secure and economically vibrant contributes to the overall stability of the Indo-Pacific.
- Facilitating Deeper Southeast Asian Engagement: BIMSTEC provides a formal framework for India to deepen its economic and security ties with ASEAN littoral states like Myanmar and Thailand, key players in the Indo-Pacific.
- Complementary Initiatives: India’s Sagar (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative in the Indian Ocean region complements its Indo-Pacific strategy and aligns with BIMSTEC’s maritime security objectives.
India’s evolving role in BIMSTEC and the Indo-Pacific reflects a strategic imperative to enhance its security and economic interests in a dynamic geopolitical landscape. In BIMSTEC, India seeks to revitalize a dormant regional body to foster connectivity, trade, and security cooperation, creating an alternative to China-centric frameworks. Within the broader Indo-Pacific, India is a key proponent of a rules-based, open, and inclusive maritime order, actively engaging in security partnerships and economic linkages. While challenges persist in both arenas, India’s increasing assertiveness and diplomatic initiatives position it as a crucial anchor for regional security and economic synergy, aiming to create a more stable and prosperous neighborhood. The successful integration of BIMSTEC’s potential with the strategic objectives of the Indo-Pacific will be critical for India’s sustained regional influence.
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