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What's the article about?
- It talks about the need to deepen India-ASEAN Relations.
Relevance:
- GS2: IR – Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
Context:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jakarta, Indonesia, to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit.
- The visit aimed to deepen India's engagement with the 10 Southeast Asian nations and cement traditional ties with neighbouring Asian economies.
Analysis:
- Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises:
- The joint leaders' statement on 'Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises' at the ASEAN-India summit underscores the shared vulnerability the region perceives in the face of the ongoing heightened global food insecurity.
- India's recent curbs on export of rice have triggered some alarm, with the prices of the regional staple reportedly nearing a 15-year-high.
- Free and Open Indo-Pacific:
- PM Modi's pitch, laying stress on the need for a rules-based post-COVID-19 world order and a free and open Indo-Pacific, was clearly directed at members among the Asian bloc who are increasingly disquieted by China's recent muscle flexing and claims over the South China Sea.
- The Prime Minister's not-so-veiled message to the ASEAN members is that India is a more reliable long-term strategic and economic partner, which has no territorial ambitions that could discomfit them.
- Trade Ties with ASEAN Members:
- For India, grappling as it is with an underwhelming free trade agreement (FTA) with the 10-nation grouping, trade ties with the eastern economies have grown in volume but asymmetrically, with imports far outpacing the country's exports.
- The widening trade deficit and the perception that Chinese goods are taking advantage of lower tariffs under the FTA to find their way into the Indian market, have, among other factors, precipitated a review of the pact that is likely to be completed in 2025.
Way Forward:
- India needs to stay closely engaged with the ASEAN members, both as a trade hedge against the slowdown in its main western markets and to highlight its significance as an all-weather ally.
