Weary of China, ASEAN looks at India for leadership

    2020-03-03T09:50:04+00:00February 23rd, 2018|2017/2018, Region Focus, UK Edition - March 2018, Year|

    ASEAN is heavily dependent on China for trade but distrust between the two in South China Sea offers an opening for India to enhance its stature in the region. Every year, as India celebrates the birth of its Republic in the last week of January, the world watches as the largest democracy shows its mettle as a social, political, cultural and military superpower. This year however, was a particularly power packed show not because the tableaus of various states of [...]

      Greater India-ASEAN engagement is imperative for India

      2020-03-24T06:38:55+00:00February 23rd, 2018|2017/2018, Region Focus, UK Edition - March 2018, Year|

      There appears to be awareness that India’s relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) must move beyond symbolism. One of Narendra Modi’s first foreign policy initiatives called on the country to reinvigorate its “Look East” policy, making it an “Act East” policy. The Look East policy, launched in 1991, is not without achievements – bilateral trade between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased from just $2.3 billion in 1991/92 to around $70 [...]