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India and East Asia

Foreign Minister GeorgeYeo was reflecting Singapore's far-sighted and consistently helpful attitude when he characterised India's interest and presence in the East as being "beneficial and beneficent to all of us in South East Asia." He regards India's rise in the world "good for Singapore...good for the region." The stance taken by the city state's political leadership over the past decade and more has helped India not just to build a new partnership with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), but also to establish a new equation with the larger region. Singapore was among the first countries in the East to recognise India's growing importance for the larger region from both the economic and strategic viewpoints. This led naturally to the India-Singapore strategic partnership. Aside from helping India cement its position as a dialogue partner of Asean (and consequently as a participant in the Asean Regional Forum), this close relationship has enabled New Delhi to take part in the East Asian Summit. Foreign Minister Yeo, who was earlier handling Trade and Industry, has had a productive visit, studying India's progress in different fields and meeting several of the country's political leaders.

India has wisely been cautious and even reticent about articulating its interests in the East from an overt strategic perspective. Its `Look East' policy has correctly focussed on economic engagement with countries in South East Asia and in the larger East Asian region. Given its buoyant trade and economic relations with Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and also with China, Japan, and South Korea, India might come under pressure from the United States and its regional allies to involve itself in the `strategic architecture' of the region. Suggestions include taking a more active role in ensuring the security of air and sea lanes, especially in the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. Singapore rightly sees the peaceful rise of India and China as a critical factor in maintaining "a larger environment of peace for development." If India is to play a substantive role in East Asia's security architecture, it must first know what to avoid. It must avoid going along with any strategy of countering or containing China or any other country in the region. Growing fundamentalist militancy in the region and the global terrorist network remain major causes of concern. However, New Delhi must be careful not to compromise the independence of its international policy in seeking to have a more active role in any regional security architecture.

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