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Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 13
Riding a mix of religion, commerce and a growing challenge of China, India will be hosting all heads of state of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for an India-ASEAN summit to mark 25 years of the relationship.
All 10 leaders will be chief guests at the Republic Day parade down the Rajpath in New Delhi on January 26.
Commerce, Culture and Connectivity are the three ‘Cs’ of the India-ASEAN relationship. Various people-to-people connects will be marked by the high-profile India-ASEAN commemorative summit in New Delhi on January 25 and followed by the festive fanfare of the military-cultural parade the next day. This is the second time that an India-ASEAN summit is being held, the previous one being organised five years ago to mark 20 years of the relationship. ASEAN has conducted such summits with the US, Russia, China and Korea.
The maritime connectivity will be an important route for our relationship, a source said. Another focus will be on strategic ties as India and companies held by private individuals are investing in various infrastructure projects. ASEAN — Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos, Brunei — form fourth largest trading partner of India at $70 billion.
India is also looking at providing the much needed stability in the South China Sea. Some of the ASEAN countries are locked in territorial dispute with China in the hydro-carbon rich sea. New Delhi has a stated goal that freedom of navigation and over flight over the South China Sea is crucial. China unilaterally claims large parts of the sea. “A peaceful, stable and free Asia is very important,” a source said.
India will focus on the youth and host 500 children, exposing them to the Indian way of life. At the religious-cultural level, India has invited all 10 ASEAN countries to send in their ‘Ramayana’ troupes to perform in India. Variations of the Hindu epic are narrated in various forms in these countries. “Ramayana is an important link,” a source said.
Connectivity is the fulcrum of all three Cs and this is not just maritime or road connectivity, but the soft connectivity. India-ASEAN ties go back to 2000 years. The tri-lateral highway that will link India’s north-east to Thailand via Myanmar is expected to be completed by 2019.
Marking 25 yrs of relationship
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