Furthering India’s Act East Policy

-
President Ram Nath Kovind was on a two nation visit to the Philippines and Japan—both important anchors in India’s ‘Act East’ Policy. During the first leg of the tour, President Kovind visited the Philippines to commemorate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations. This was followed by his visit to Japan to attend the accession ceremonies to the Chrysanthemum Throne by Japanese Emperor, Naruhito.

Underpinned by shared values and mutuality of strategic interests, Philippines constitutes an important component of India’s ‘Act East’ Policy. Advancing a rules-based global order, India and Philippines are ‘natural partners’ in connection with upholding international law and sovereign equality of nations. India-Philippines relations, founded on South-South cooperation and strong democratic polity, gained further momentum within the framework of the Act East Policy. Qualitative depth has been added to India-Philippines relations with four new agreements signed during the visit encompassing maritime domain, security, tourism, science and technology and culture. Besides, cooperation in key areas such as terrorism and space were discussed. Diversification in political-security-economic and people-to-people relations define this bilateral partnership. Mr. Kovind also unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Miriam College in Quezon City. Meanwhile, a reinforced India-ASEAN strategic partnership further supported the bilateral understanding.

Both nations are being counted amongst the fastest growing economies having demographic advantages. The economic complementarities between India and Philippines lay a strong foundation for robust trade and investment linkage. Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ initiative offer considerable opportunities for businesses and investors as both sides focus on advancing state-of-the-art infrastructure, including smart cities, ports, airports, and digital i-ways.

At the India-Philippines Business Conclave and the 4th ASEAN-India Business Summit, the Indian President articulated the need to explore new vistas of bilateral cooperation in digital industries, innovation and start-ups, health and pharma and in the key area of agricultural development. Bilateral trade amounts to US$ 2.3 billion, representing a 17 percent rise in the last two years. While Indian companies are focussing on sectors including textiles, information technology, and pharmaceutical, other sectors such as infrastructure development and defence modernisation holds potential. President Kovind invited the Philippines to participate in India’s flagship initiatives including Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Ganga Rejuvenation Project, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities and the Jal Jeevan Mission.

In the second leg of the visit to Japan, the Indian President attended the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito along with the Court Banquet hosted by the Emperor and Empress and also the official banquet hosted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. To further civilizational linkages, President visited Tsukiji Hongwanji Buddhist Temple. He also visited the Meiji Shrine dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Soakin in Tokyo.

Mr. Kovind attended the foundation ceremony of Sino Soto temple in Kakegawa. The India President’s visit to Japan underscored the growing depth and scope of India-Japan relations. Shared universal values of democracy, freedom, and rule of law alongside convergence of strategic, political, and economic interests laid a strong foundation for an enduring partnership. India would be hosting the first Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) ahead of the Japan-India annual summit, reportedly scheduled in December 2019. Until recently, India and Japan had a 2+2 Vice-Ministerial level dialogue.

As South-east and East Asia lies at the heart of India’s Act East Policy, India will continue to invest political energy at the highest level in elevating strategic partnerships to newer heights. President Kovind’s visit advanced this objective. As the Indo-Pacific construct assumes greater space in policy designs given its geo-political and strategic dimensions, it is imperative for India to engage in forward thinking to accomplish the full potential of its strategic partnerships in the region.

Script: Dr. Titli Basu, Strategic Analyst on East & South East Asia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Data Darbar Suicide Attack

-
The deadly attack on the famous Sufi shrine Data Darbar in Lahore on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan that killed 10 and injured more than 25 people is yet another ghastly reminder that Pakistan still shelters terrorist groups that have now come to haunt its own State. The suicide bombing was apparently targeted towards the elite security force that was assigned to guard the Shrine as the inflow of devotees increase during Ramadan. This is not the first time a Sufi Shrine was targeted by terrorists in Pakistan. Many Shrines like Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Baba Farid in Pakpattan and Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi were attacked in the past. The Sufi nature of these shrines has made them an easy target of the terrorist groups that consider Sufis to be heretics. The terror organisations within Pakistan such as the Pakistan Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Hizbul Ahrar (said to be a splinter faction of the local Taliban) that took responsibility for the latest bombings in
Read more

US Needs To Relook Into Talks With The Taliban

-
The US has deviated from its resolve to root out terrorism in any form. From July last year it has entered into a dialogue with Taliban. The sixth round of these talks began in Doha, Qatar last week and is still underway. The talks have not yielded any result so far. US Special Envoy for the talks, Zalmay Khalilzad is reported to have said that the talks revolve around withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, guarantees against terrorism, ensuring negotiations between Taliban and Afghanistan government for initiation of political settlement and a lasting cease fire. Direct involvement of US in Afghanistan dates back seventeen years to September 2001; when terrorists attacked twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. Following this, America had declared a war against terrorism. It vowed to punish Al Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden, whom it considered to be behind the attacks on American soil. It also declared to root out Taliban from Afghanistan for providing safe
Read more

India To Roll Out The World’s Biggest Covid19 Vaccination Drive

-
India will begin inoculating its 1.3 billion population against coronavirus starting January 16, in one of the world’s massive rollouts. The first phase of this daunting and complex task will cover 30 million frontline and health workers. This will be followed by the vaccination of 270 million people above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities or with high risk of infection. The aim is to vaccinate 300 million, equal almost to the entire US population, by July. This will be an unprecedented scale of immunisation. From developing, manufacturing to becoming a key supplier, India will play a crucial role in the global immunisation programme with two “Made in India” vaccines—Covaxin and Covishield. Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine against Covid 19, is manufactured by the Hyderabad-based pharma company Bharat Biotech. The second, Covishield, was developed jointly by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and is manufactured by the Serum Institute of Ind
Read more