Critical Analysis of India: ASEAN-China Relations

I. Introduction

ASEAN:

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization that was established on August 8 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand. The main purposes of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are to accelerate economic growth, to promote regional peace, to provide assistance by member nations to one another etc. It was established by the signing of the ASEAN Declaration by the 5 Founding Members, namely: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Countries like Brunei Darussalam joined on January 7 1984, Viet Nam on July 28 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on July 23 1997; and Cambodia on April 30 1999, joined this regional intergovernmental organization. All these nations are making up the ten Member States of ASEAN at present. It is the collection of the different states, which do not share similar minds, which seem more to gain from cooperation than competition. These benefits or gains come from reducing the conflicts between states, maintaining the sovereignty of states, non-intervention among nations and increasing economic profits from free trade agreements.

“As per the ASEAN Declaration, the main aims or purposes of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are:

• To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and Partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
• To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;
• To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
• To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;
• To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
• To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.”²

To regulate relationships with one another, the Member Nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of 1976 and adopted the Fundamental Principles of this Treaty. These principles are adopted to enhance peace, friendship and mutual cooperation on matters affecting Southeast Asia consistent with the spirit and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. “Article 2 of the Treaty deals with the Fundamental Principles, which are as follows:

a) Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations;

b) The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion;

c) Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

d) Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means;

e) Renunciation of the threat or use of force;

f) Effective cooperation among themselves.”³

India-China relation

The on-off relationship between India and China is on what the whole world has eyes. India got independence in 1947 while China in 1949. Then the modern relationship between the two nations started with their independence. Till then, both nations appreciated various minor and major acts of one another, such as diplomatic recognition of PRC (China) by India and their role in the Korean War etc. Both nations entered into a major agreement in 1954 in which both nations agreed to ‘Five Principles of Co-existence’, also known as Panchsheel. Soon border disputes arose between the two, which led to war between them in 1962. Three years later, in 1965, China even backed Pakistan in the India-Pakistan war and then in the 1971 war. Till the 1980s, the relations between them were at a low ebb which was normalized in 1988 by various bilateral agreements along with border issues.

II. History

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was not the first Regional Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) of the Asian region. Before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed in 1954 as part of creating collective defence treaties. In 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded by Five Southeast Asian Nations, which were Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established at the time when the Cold War was going on between two Super Powers was between the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It was formed with the aim to promote stability in the Asian region.

In February 1976, the first ASEAN summit was held in Bali. In that summit, the efforts of the member nations were toward increasing cooperation in the region were necessary and towards resisting the spread of communism. The Declaration of ASEAN Concord I (Bali Concord I) was signed by the member nations, which confirmed the values that had been established in the preceding decade, such as the principles of respecting sovereignty and integrity and not interfering in one another’s internal matters. Then Brunei Darussalam joined on January 7 1984, Viet Nam on July 28 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on July 23 1997, and Cambodia on April 30 1999 making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN. With the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to promote diplomacy in the region, ASEAN expanded its engagement in the region with membership in a series of Intergovernmental Organizations and Forums. Various Bilateral and Multilateral agreements were signed by ASEAN to promote free trade among nations. Regional cooperation was further extended with the creation of the ASEAN Plus Three forum in 1997, which included China, South Korea and Japan. In 2003 the ASEAN summit was held in Bali for the Declaration of the ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II), which established times for the three pillars of the ASEAN Community, the ASEAN Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Then the East Asia Summit, which took place in 2005 and has expanded to include India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. On the fortieth (40th) anniversary of the formation of the ASEAN, the 13th ASEAN Summit was held in Singapore in 2007, in which the member states entered into the ASEAN Charter. This ASEAN Charter was signed and ratified in 2008 that came into force on December 15 2008. After this summit, the number of Summits increases that is twice a year.⁴ At present, there are 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with one observer and 27 states as members of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Names of ASEAN: Ten States⁵ ― Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

ASEAN Regional Forum:

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is an important platform for security dialogue in the Indo-Pacific established in 1994. It provides a setting in which members can discuss current security issues and develop cooperative measures to enhance peace and security in the region.⁶ Australia was a founding member of the ARF. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has responsibility for ARF policy, in consultation with the Department of Defense and other relevant agencies the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The ARF has five workstreams:

• Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime;
• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Security;
• Disaster Relief;
• Maritime Security; and
• Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.

Names of ARF: Twenty-seven States⁷ – Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, United States, and Vietnam.

(A.) China and ASEAN

The relationships of China and Southeast Asia had its root back in the silk route period. During this period, China was connected to Southeast Asia by this route through India. But these friendly relations come to an end with the colonization and world wars. Then the modern relationships developed again after World War II in the 1950s. These relations were categorized into 3 parts based on various aspects. These three categories were ideological and military alliance with North Vietnamese; friendly regimes with non-communist kind relation with Burma, Cambodia and Indonesia; and relationships with hostile and anti-communist nations like Laos and South Vietnam. Later china developed relations with the nation, having militarily allied with western powers such as Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand.

In 1967, ASEAN was formed, which was perceived as the tool of imperialism by China at that time. The political change in Cambodia and Indonesia in the mid-1960s, in which new Government formed were not favouring China. Even China made a new foreign policy that was aggressive in nature and ruined China’s relationship with Burma also. By the 1970s, China left with friendly relations with a few Southeast Asian nations. But later in the mid-1970s, the maritime nations such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines developed their diplomatic rapprochement with China. The relationship between ASEAN and China first time started during the open Session of the 24^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 1991 in Kuala Lumpur. It commenced when H.E. Qian Qichen attended this Session as a guest of the Malaysian Government. He discussed that China is interested in corporate with ASEAN for mutual benefit. Then China became the full Dialogue Partner with ASEAN at the 29^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 1996 in Jakarta, Indonesia. China appointed its first resident Ambassador to ASEAN in Jakarta in September 2012. The ASEAN-China Centre in Beijing was launched at the 14th ASEAN-China Summit in November 2011 in Bali. The Centre is a one-stop information centre to promote ASEAN-China cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, education, and culture. China was the first Dialogue Partner of ASEAN to accede to the TAC in October 2003. China was also the first Nuclear Weapon State (NWS) that expressed its intention to accede to the Protocol to the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ).⁸ ASEAN and China signed the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in November 2002 in Phnom Penh. ASEAN and China adopted the Guidelines to implement the DOC on July 21 2011, in Bali, Indonesia.⁹ The 19th ASEAN-China Summit to Commemorate the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations the Leaders held on September 7 2016, in Vientiane adopted the Joint Statement on the Application of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) in the South China Sea and the Guidelines for Hotline Communications among Senior Officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the ASEAN Member States and China in Response to Maritime Emergencies in the Implementation of the DOC. At their meeting on August 6 2017, in Manila, the Foreign Ministers of the ASEAN Member States and China adopted the framework of the Code of Conduct.¹⁰ At the 20th ASEAN-China Summit in November 2017, the ASEAN Member States and China officially announced the launch of the COC negotiations. In combatting illicit drug trafficking, the 4th ASEAN-China Coordination Meeting held in Ha Noi in 2018 adopted the Terms of Reference of ASEAN and China Cooperative Operations in Response to Dangerous Drugs (ACCORD). ASEAN and China continue to strengthen cooperation in the media and information sector. The Fifth Conference of ASEAN Plus Three Ministers Responsible for Information (5th AMRI+3) on May 10 2018, in Singapore, endorsed the new ASEAN-China Work Plan on Enhancing ASEAN-China Cooperation through Information and Media (2018-2020). 2019 is designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchanges.¹¹ A number of activities have been carried out in the areas of public health, education, culture, labour and social security, local Government and people-to-people exchanges, environment, media, youth, social development, and poverty reduction.

(B.) India and ASEAN

India’s relations with Southeast Asia have a very long history. But these relations were hampered firstly during colonization, then due to the cold war. Because of these reasons, it became difficult for India to make trade relations with certain Southeast Asian nations. Later India did not get a chance to improve its relation with Southeast Asia due to the India-China war in 1962 and later the India-Pakistan war in 1965 and 1971. India was so busy dealing with its neighbouring nations. Mutually beneficial relations again revived in the 1990s. The sectorial relationship between ASEAN and India started in 1992, which converted into full dialogue relation in December 1995.¹² This relationship further accelerated during ASEAN-India Summit in 2002 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After that, the ASEAN-India Summit was held annually. The 7th ASEAN-India Summit held in October 2009 noted with satisfaction the steady progress of implementation of the ASEAN–India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity. The summit also agreed on a new and more enhanced phase of the Plan of Action to implement the said Partnership in order to seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges arising from the global financial crisis and evolving political and economic landscape. The ASEAN-India Plan of Action (POA) for 2010-2015 was developed and adopted by the Leaders at the 8th ASEAN-India Summit in October 2010 in Ha Noi.¹³ ASEAN and India marked the 20th anniversary of their Dialogue Relations in 2012 with a Commemorative Summit held in India on December 20 2012. India established a separate diplomatic Mission to ASEAN, which was inaugurated in April 2015 by H.E. Smt. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of India. In 2017, ASEAN and India commemorated the 25th Anniversary of their Dialogue Relations with a number of meaningful celebratory events, including high-level meetings, business conclaves and Expo, youth summit, artist camp, music festivals, and youth awards, among others. ASEAN and India convened ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to mark the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations on January 25 in New Delhi, India. ASEAN-India Expo and Forum was held in August 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand, under the theme “ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership: an untapped potential on trade, investment, tourism and connectivity”. The Medium-Term Plan of Action (POA) for ASEAN-India Cooperation in Agriculture and Forestry (2016-2020) was endorsed at the 4th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AIMMAF), held in January 2018 in New Delhi, India. Both sides were encouraged to focus on the implementation of the POA, particularly on (i) Networking and cooperation between government authorities concerned, (ii) Investment, capacity building, sharing of information, experience and best practices, research and development, agricultural technology, management and innovation, (iii) Cooperation in implementing the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework, the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in the ASEAN Region (SPA-FS) 2015-2020 (iv) Enhanced resilience of natural systems and improve the adaptive capacities of human communities to cope with environmental hazards, and (v) Climate change and its adverse impacts on socio-economic development, health and the environment in ASEAN and India.¹⁴ ASEAN and India are also exploring cooperation in other areas, including finance, energy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and natural resource management.

China’s policy toward ASEAN

The relationship between China and ASEAN is highly influenced by the activities that occurred in China. China tried to develop relations with Southeast Asia for its own benefit. China wanted to dominate in this regional institution. China holds a privileged position in ASEAN nations because of the financial reliability of Southeast Asia on China. China signed various agreements with Southeast nations such as the Free Trade Agreement, the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. To expand its connectivity with various nations, China announced the formation of the New Silk Road in 2013. This will have both pros and cons. The important positive thing will be bringing these nations close to one another to develop relations, and the biggest con is that China will not lose the chance to dominate these nations. China will try to attempt to hold the Global Power position in Southeast Asia. At present, China organized its strategies for developing relations with Southeast Asia based on 3 categories. Firstly, to increase economic and commercial exchange, secondly is the development of infrastructures and lastly, the institutionalization of dialogue.

South China Sea Dispute:

The South China Sea is full of resources in its water and in the seabed and also the area of dispute between many surrounding countries. Countries like China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei are claiming over various parts of the South China Sea. Later even Indonesia became part of this dispute. This dispute arose in the early 1990s when there were naval clashes between China and Vietnam 1988. Then in 1995, China seized certain Mischief reefs which were earlier under the control of the Philippines. ASEAN didn’t take much initiative in this case but still tried to dissolve the issue by making parties sign the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002.¹⁵ Despite the Declaration, both China and Vietnam claimed their sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea by announcing publically. This stands the dispute as it was again.

India’s policy toward ASEAN

Most of the Southeast Asian nations are influenced by India in various aspects, especially politically. In the past, these nations looked at India as their parental leader, but India failed to play its role. As India had no past to worry about, Southeast Asia looked toward India as benevolent power. But at first Cold war, then the India-China war in 1962 and the India-Pakistan war in 1965 and 1971 diverted India’s attention away from Southeast Asia. Above these, there were various factors that led to distancing between India and Southeast Asia. These factors were the Friendship Treaty between India and USSR (1971), Nuclear Testing (1974) and establishing naval forces in the Andaman Sea. With the end of the Cold war, India propounded the ‘Look East policy to develop new and repair old relations with East Asia, especially with ASEAN nations.¹⁶ After becoming the Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, India not only became a member of ARF but also included the ASEAN department in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in 2011. To improve the relation with Southeast Asia, India entered into various agreements with ASEAN along with bilateral agreements with individual member nations.

Act East Policy:

The policy was proposed by India in 2014, is like a continuation of the ‘Look East policy with little advancement. It is a diplomatic approach of India toward East Asia to promote economic, political and cultural relations with more focus on ASEAN.¹⁷ This policy also emphasizes connectivity between India and East Asia to exchange opportunities and to bring Balance of Power in Asia. If, on the one hand, India is expanding relations with other nations, then, on the other hand, India is trying not to offend China in any way. China is a strong and powerful country in Asia which tries to expand its hegemony over Asian nations. So other nations are looking for India for their protection.

III. Conclusion

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO). The main aims of the ASEAN are to accelerate economic growth, promote regional peace, to provide assistance by member nations to one another. This scope is widened as to the nation’s military security along with economic and trade security. China and India both joined this Organization as Dialogue Partners and became permanent members of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). At present, these both nations are the most crucial for the ASEAN as the founding nations of ASEAN are not powerful nations, but still, they came together to protect the Southeast Asian region. With the entry of China and India, the scope of the ASEAN also includes military security to protect the Asian nations and to increase the investment of the nations in the military and security. India and China entered into various agreements with the ASEAN for the agricultural, financial, trade, culture, education development overall. But these both powers are trying their best to dominate in Asia and ASEAN region. Both nations are including ASEAN in their foreign policies to strengthen their relationship with Southeast Asia in almost all areas. On one side, India is trying to improve its relation with Southeast Asia by upgrading the ‘Look East policy to ‘Act East policy, while on the other side, China is having South China Sea disputes with various nations, which are degrading their relationship with one another.

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IV. References

Authors:

• Ashish Chaturvedi & Dr. Hari Prapan Sharma, “India’s Foreign Policy: A Transforma-tion from ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’”, Journal of Critical Reviews, ISSN: 2394-5125, Vol. 7, Issue 11, 2020
• Borja Llandres Cuesta, “China’s Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia”, Opinion Paper IEEE 08/2020
• Bruce Vaughn & Wayne M. Morrison, “China-Southeast Asia Relations: Trends, Issues and Implications for the United States” CRS Report for Congress (Updated on April 4, 2006), received through CRS web
• Liang Ying (Editor) “China-ASEAN Relations: Cooperation and Development”, ISSN: 2529-8143, Vol. 2 (online) downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by 132.154.143 on January 12, 2021

Journals:

• Overview of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations (as of April 2020) available on https://asean.org/asean/external-relations/china/ and on https://asean.org/stroage/2012/05/Overv iew-ASEAN-China-Relations-22-Apr-2020-00000002.pdf as assessed on December 12, 2020
• Overview: ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations (as of August 2020) available on https://asean.org/asean/external-relations/india/ as assessed on December 12, 2020

Websites:

• About ASEAN, https://asean.org/asean /about-asean last visited on Dec 4, 2020
• ASEAN-China Relations http://www.as ean-china-center.org/english/2020-03/4613.html last visited on December 30, 2020
• India-ASEAN Relations available on: https;//mea.gov.in/aseanindia/20years.htm last visited on December 30, 2020
• ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) https://asean.org/asean-political-security-comm unity/asean-regional-forum-arf/ last visited on December 6, 2020
• ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) https://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/region al-architecture/Pages/asean-regional-forum-arf.aspx last visited on December 7, 2020
• Johnny Wood (Writer), “What is ASEAN?” World Economic Forum; Published on May 9, 2017 https://www.weforum.org/agen da/2017/05/what-is-asean-explainer/

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