Abstract
In November 2020, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated what had been the key message in India-ASEAN relations for the last thirty years: namely, ASEAN continued to be at the ‘centre’ of New Delhi’s Eastern foreign policy vector. Modi’s statement came at a critical juncture for their relations, as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic forced ASEAN to reconsider its approach to regional powers—and especially China—to the detriment of India. In this light, the chapter presents a study on the prospects of current India-ASEAN relations, adopting an interest-based approach to unpack bilateral relations. This chapter investigates the history and institutional framework that regulate India-ASEAN relations, as well as the evolution of their two chief cooperative interests—that is, trade and economic exchanges and non-traditional security cooperation. The chapter concludes that China and newfound regional multilateral frameworks of economic cooperation pose the most severe threats to the future prosperity of India’s engagement with Southeast Asia. The analysis also indicates that what is referred to as ‘Buddhist diplomacy’ and maritime security cooperation, especially in the South China Sea (SCS), remain Delhi’s major trump cards for fostering relations with ASEAN in the short term.
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Notes
- 1.
On the RCEP see The Economist (2020).
- 2.
To expand on the Sino-Indian border clashes in Ladakh see Pant (2020).
- 3.
Among others see Amitav Acharya (2015) on LEP.
- 4.
To expand on the challenges to India’s internal politics around these years see Yadav (1999).
- 5.
Criticism was raised on picturing the LEP as being composed of phases. Chietigj Bajpaee argues that no complete separation can be identified in-between phases. Nonetheless, as argued in the following paragraphs, critical moments can be singled out in the evolution of the policy, mainly pointing to the expansion of India’s sectors of interests, that bookend moments in LEP’s development. To expand on this issue see Bajpaee (2017).
- 6.
On the impact of the GWOT on India’s foreign policy, see Pant and Lidarev (2018).
- 7.
To expand on China’s role in launching the ASEAN+3 platform, see Cheow (2005).
- 8.
See Hemmings (2020).
- 9.
See Wojczewski (2020).
- 10.
To expand on the significance of Diwali in Indian modern culture, see McKeever (2020).
- 11.
On the ‘Delhi Declaration’ see e.g. Siyech (2018).
- 12.
Supra note 1.
- 13.
Above all, India’s penetration into regional markets.
- 14.
- 15.
On the prospective impact of Covid-19 on terrorism in Asia see Sciorati (2021).
- 16.
For a backgrounder on the Bali bombings see BBC (2012).
- 17.
See ASEAN (2003).
- 18.
For a discussion on the bombings in Makassar see Fitriani and Naradichiantama (2021).
- 19.
See Sciorati (2021).
- 20.
On the role of India in the Tibet–China dispute see Hoffmann (2006).
- 21.
To expand on the dharmavijaya see Rattini (2019).
- 22.
Background interview conducted by the author (Thai anonymous expert, 2019).
- 23.
On the Quad, see Vanak, Souders, and del Mazo (2021).
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Sciorati, G. (2023). A ‘Nodal Centre’: Competing Interests in India’s Relations with ASEAN After Covid-19. In: Beretta, S., Berkofsky, A., Iannini, G. (eds) India’s Foreign Policy and Economic Challenges. Global Power Shift. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20270-4_13
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