Manish Chand | India Writes

With an eye on China, ASEAN calls for bigger India role in Indo-Pacific

January 25, 2018 - by Manish Chand

Amid China’s increasing economic and military stranglehold in East Asia, ASEAN countries have pitched for a bigger role for India in the Asia-Pacific region, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi putting maritime security on the forefront of the India-ASEAN agenda.
In his opening speech at the plenary of the special commemorative summit to mark the silver jubilee of India-ASEAN partnership, Mr Modi termed maritime cooperation as a key focus area for India and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region and underlined that maintaining freedom of navigation will remain critical in days to come.
The overarching thrust of the special summit in Delhi, which is being attended by all the 10 leaders of ASEAN countries, is to raise India’s profile in the region with a larger strategic vision to pitch India as a credible balancing force in the region. The 10 leaders of ASEAN countries are also be guests of honour at the Republic Day celebrations, a unique and unprecedented gesture by India that underscores the centrality of ASEAN region in its geopolitical calculus in the region.

The Power of 11: An Asian Century

January 24, 2018 - by Manish Chand

Call it the Power of 11, if you will.
The soaring dream of an Asian Century is poised to acquire new wings as the leaders of India and 10 ASEAN countries participate in a special commemorative summit in New Delhi, marking the silver jubilee anniversary of their multi-faceted partnership. In a captivating spectacle, the 10 ASEAN leaders will also be Guests of Honour at India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2018, the first time the leaders of a region have been bestowed such a singular honour by New Delhi, underscoring the increasing salience of the region in India’s foreign policy calculus.
In many ways, it’s time for multiple celebrations for India and ASEAN, which are conjoined by “Shared Values, Common Destiny” – the master-theme of the summit, as they toast the 25th anniversary of their dialogue partnership, 15 years of summit-level interaction and 5 years of Strategic Partnership. The intersection of the golden jubilee of the establishment of ASEAN and the silver jubilee of India-ASEAN partnership has only heightened a sense of festivity and pride in what has been achieved so far and what’s yet to come.

Moving beyond UN vote, Israel, India focus on soaring future

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 - by Manish Chand

Moving beyond intricate chessboard of geopolitics in West Asia, India and Israel are set to fashion a robust partnership of the future, revolving around technology and innovation during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s maiden trip to the Asian country.
Days before Mr Netanyahu’s visit, India had voted against the unilateral declaration of Jerusalem by the US in the UN, triggering speculation about New Delhi’s commitment to taking the India-Israeli relationship forward. Now these apprehensions have been dispelled as the Israeli leader began his six-day visit to India on January 14, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally receiving his “friend” at the airport. Ahead of his visit, Mr Netanyahu had clarified that although he was disappointed, one vote won’t affect this relationship of the future.

Celebrating India-Vietnam bonding: Uncle Ho’s Book Corner in Delhi

January 2, 2018January 2, 2018 - by Manish Chand

It’s a celebration of burgeoning Hanoi-Delhi cultural bonding, which is set to deepen with the setting up of the first-ever Book Corner of Vietnam, named after the iconic leader Ho Chi Minh in a prestigious library in the Indian capital.
The Vietnam-Ho Chi Minh Corner in the Central Secretariat Library in New Delhi was inaugurated recently by Vietnam’s Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh and Sujata Prasad, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Culture.
The event also saw the launch of a book that celebrates Ho Chi Minh’s unstinting love for India and his legendary friendship with India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Amid ongoing geopolitical churn in the region, Vietnam has emerged as one of India’s key strategic partners in ASEAN. While diplomatic contacts and economic ties are growing rapidly, the India-Vietnam partnership is rooted in centuries-old cultural and civilizational linkages.
Blending Buddhism and cultural linkages with an expanding economic and strategic partnership, the India-Vietnam relations are poised to soar high in months to come.

Trump’s new security calculus: India leading power & partner, China chief rival

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 - by Manish Chand

In US President Donald Trump’s newly-unveiled National Security Strategy (NSS), India is toasted as a leading global power, with Washington flaunting its love for New Delhi and deepening strategic and economic ties with this emerging power. Russia and China are painted as rivals and the US’ top national security threats, which threaten to “challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.”
If there is one country which has come out shining in Trump’s “America First” NSS, unveiled in Washington on December 18, it’s India, the world’s most populous democracy and the fastest growing major economy. Seeking to bolster India’s rise, the NSS also backs India’s concerns obliquely on the China-led One Belt One Road project and asks Pakistan to take “decisive action” against terror groups operating from its territory.
Clearly, there is a lot to rejoice for India, but the prospects of adversarial relations with Russia and China presage a conflicted international geopolitical landscape which New Delhi will have to tread cautiously.
Shaping a balanced regional order and curbing China’s assertiveness align with New Delhi’s larger strategic goals, but given its own delicate relationship with China and extensive economic ties New Delhi will have to do a delicate diplomatic juggling act to avoid the impression of joining the US-led China containment design, which has been reinforced by the launch of the Quadrilateral dialogue among leading maritime democracies of the region, including India, US, Japan and Australia.

India-East Africa conclave: Mapping new pathways for shared prosperity

November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 - by Manish Chand

Against the backdrop of the unfolding resurgence of India and East Africa, the fastest growing region in a rising African continent, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has called for pitching the burgeoning economic partnership onto a higher orbit.
India’s Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia underscored the striking convergence between the two regions and spoke about an “alignment between the India Growth Story and Africa’s own vision of resurgence, as crystallised in African Agenda 2063.”
Mrs Teaotia is leading a high-profile delegation of top Indian industrialists, investors and senior officials, to the CII-EXIM Bank Regional Conclave on India and East Africa in Kamala.
Setting an upbeat note about the future of India’s economic relations with Uganda and East Africa, Mr Museveni exhorted Indian investors to take advantage of the improving investment environment in the country. “The potential is very big. Purchasing power in Africa is going up. Africa is the business centre of the future. You are right now in the right place at the right time,” Mr Museveni told delegates at the CII-Exim Bank Regional Conclave on “India and East Africa: Partners in Development.”
Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, CII Africa Committee, and CMD, Kirloskar Brothers Limited, dwelled on focus areas of the India-East Africa partnership, which includes infrastructure, banking & finance, manufacturing, agriculture and food processing and knowledge sectors like IT & telecom, health care, education & skill development.
As India gears up to intensify trade and investment with the dynamic East African region, promoting Brand India in the region will be crucial. Brand India is synonymous with Trust, Quality and Innovation, said Mr Kirloskar.

Quad Quandary: Modi, Trump step up strategic connect in balancing Asia

November 14, 2017 - by Manish Chand

Amid the mutating strategic landscape in Asia and the new geostrategic configuration of Quadrilateral as a backdrop, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with US President Donald Trump in Manila that focused on bolstering India’s military capability and enhancing strategic connect in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Modi-Trump meeting at a glitzy hotel in Manila on November 13 was watched closely in the region amid a collective effort by the leaders of ASEAN and East Asia Summit countries to shape an inclusive regional architecture and China’s declared ambition to be a global power.
The meeting between Mr Modi and Mr Trump lasted for 52 minutes, much beyond the allotted time, signalling that despite a slew of back-to-back meetings both leaders had serious business to discuss. “There was a broad review of strategic landscape in Asia,” India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar told reporters at Manila Marriott hotel, where PM Modi with his entourage is staying.
Mr Trump was all praise for Mr Modi, suggesting a deepening personal chemistry between the two leaders. “He’s become a friend of ours and a great gentleman doing a fantastic job in bringing around lots of factions in India — bringing them all together,” he said.
Bonhomie and backslapping apart, the overarching thrust of the discussions was on spurring the rise of India as a major global power and enhanced coordination in the Asia-Pacific, with an eye on containing China.
The White House read-out on the Trump-Modi meeting underlined “shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
They pledged to enhance their cooperation as Major Defense Partners, resolving that two of the world’s great democracies should also have the world’s greatest militaries,” said the White House.

With Quad on mind, Modi, Trump bond in Manila

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 - by Manish Chand

With the new geostrategic alphabet of Quadrilateral shaping up as a backdrop, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump at a glitzy hotel in Manila to map an ambitious agenda for enhanced India-US strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Modi-Trump meeting is easily the show-stealer at the ASEAN summit in Manila as the region, specially China, will be watching closely how the world’s two largest democracies plan to deepen their connect in this strategically located region.
With paparazzi frenziedly clicking away, a beaming Mr Modi, with Mr Trump seated by his side at the Sofitel Plaza hotel, struck an upbeat note on the future of India-US relationship, which has acquired a new bounce under the Trump presidency.
In his opening remarks before he began talks with Mr Trump, Mr Modi spoke about deepening and expanding India-US relations and underlined that the two countries can work together not just bilaterally, but on an entire spectrum of cross-cutting issues for the benefit of the region, the world and the mankind.

ASEAN@50: Why Manila summit matters for India

November 12, 2017November 13, 2017 - by Manish Chand

It’s ASEAN moment in the Philippines capital – sparkling lights, giant Christmas tree and ASEAN emblems splashed all over this bustling metropolis conjure up a festive atmosphere that’s in keeping with the 50th anniversary celebrations of this vibrant grouping of 10 Southeast Asian nations. And Philippines’ maverick leader Roderigo Duterte has launched a veritable charm offensive as he rolls out the red carpet to welcome a host of world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, among others, for this defining marker in the history of ASEAN.
For India, the Manila summit will be an opportunity for Prime Minister Modi to underscore New Delhi’s strategic intent to play a bigger role in the region and impart more depth and content to its Act East policy.
On the strategic side, all eyes will be on the message coming out from the ASEAN summit on the South China Sea, where China’s suspected expansionist agenda has renewed anxiety about Beijing’s intentions and the region’s response to it. Ahead of the summit, Mr Duterte has already voiced his concerns and underlined the need for a written code of conduct that will ensure responsible behaviour by China in the disputed water body.
Looking ahead, as they celebrate 25 years of multifarious engagement across the spectrum, India and ASEAN will be looking to map new frontiers and raise the bar for this mutually empowering partnership. The message coming from the Manila summit will have a critical bearing on the future of this economically dynamic region and how it handles differences and power games to focus on the larger dream of realising the potential of an Asian Century.

Xi Jinping joins Mao pantheon: What it means for China & world

October 24, 2017October 24, 2017 - by Manish Chand

It’s the Xi Jinping Moment as China’s Communist Party elevated and exalted the 64-year-old princeling with the common touch to the pantheon of the party immortals, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, making him the most powerful Chinese leader in decades. On a cold winter morning in Beijing on October 24, the Xi Jinping Thought shone the path to realising the Chinese Dream as the week-long Party Congress concluded by enshrining the 64-year-old leader’s philosophy into the Chinese constitution, and setting him up for a prolonged stay in power, much beyond 2022 when his second term ends.
More than 2,000 delegates gathered in the majestic Great Hall of the People in Beijing’s iconic Tiananmen Square and unanimously voted to incorporate “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era” in the constitution on the final day of the week-long 19th Party Congress, a twice-a-decade meeting of the party’s ruling oligarchy.
Xi Jinping, who had inspired and enthralled the party elite and the nation with his three-and-a-half hour speech on the opening day of the congress, exuded quiet authority and poise as he spoke about “great strength and vitality,” of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the 21st century.
Xi Jinping Thought will now be on a par with Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory as a “guide to action” and revitalisation of the CPC and the Chinese nation. It will be now mandatory learning for Chinese students from primary schools through to universities.
This ceremonial elevation of Xi Jinping in the CPC pantheon will have significant ramifications for the world as it deals with the most powerful Chinese leader in decades, who has his own vision of making China a global power, which could bring him in conflict with other power centres.