India and ASEAN / East Asia

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 17 May 2011 22:53

Above visit coincides with Lower House speaker visit to Vietnam today. Sets the stage for a strategic relationship.

According to Chairwoman Kumar, since the two countries lifted their relations to strategic partnership level, bilateral cooperation has been boosted in science and technology, culture, society, diplomacy, security and defence as well as in international forums.

She said she expected the two countries would make efforts to build cooperation orientation to develop bilateral ties for the benefit of each side.

Excellent news. Viets are now entering into an alliance with India. Thai's next? We need to work on Cambodia too.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 18 May 2011 00:14

shyamd wrote:Excellent news. Viets are now entering into an alliance with India. Thai's next? We need to work on Cambodia too.

In the 90s, Cambodia used to have India look after diplomatic affairs in different countries, as Cambodia did not have embassies everywhere. However there are close relations between the Cambodian Royal Family and PRC.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 18 May 2011 15:42

^^^ Laos and Cambodia have a distinct pro-PRC tilt. I've met quite a few Vietnamese emigrants who state that Laos is and will be part of 'greater Vietnam'. The Vietnamese island with the 99 peaks in Gulf of Thailand could be a viable location for IN to have a station in the future, a second CARNIC if need be.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 18 May 2011 23:10

RajeshA wrote:
shyamd wrote:Excellent news. Viets are now entering into an alliance with India. Thai's next? We need to work on Cambodia too.
In the 90s, Cambodia used to have India look after diplomatic affairs in different countries, as Cambodia did not have embassies everywhere. However there are close relations between the Cambodian Royal Family and PRC.

The fact that India was one of the few countries to recognize the Heng Samarin government helped create goodwill. Also, India had absolutely nothing to do with the Khmer Rouge genocidal maniacs. That was all indigenous+China, and even a little of the US in the last phase( again, in one of history's real perversions, where the US' reasoning was helping the Khmer Rouge meant opposing Vietnam and hence Russia ---eeeeech, Johann what is your reading on this seemingly warped behaviour, where the US supported a group, the KR, that it previously opposed and despised)

The new pro-China tilt is puzzling, but probably mostlyl related to economics. Unfortunately the people of this region are generally not known for being deep or incisive. They will look at a country like India and say something to the effect that China is not democratic, but what is the use of democracy if your are behind economically.

chilarai · Post by **chilarai** » 19 May 2011 10:41

I clicked this in cambodia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62307201@N ... hotostream

I think India should do provide more of such help and thereby propagate soft-power in the region first.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 19 May 2011 20:31

Varoon Shekhar wrote:
The new pro-China tilt is puzzling, but probably mostlyl related to economics. Unfortunately the people of this region are generally not known for being deep or incisive. They will look at a country like India and say something to the effect that China is not democratic, but what is the use of democracy if your are behind economically.

New Pro China tilt is a stealth move by PRC/Uncle gang who are working on grand architecture to remove Indian influence from asian landmass.

Johann · Post by **Johann** » 19 May 2011 22:37

Varoon,

The US wasn't the only one who made the switch - Prince Sihanouk, who had a problem with both the Americans and the Vietnamese did the same thing.

In the American case it was driven by the US rapprochement with the PRC in 1971 which turned the Cold War from a bipolar confrontation in to a tri-polar one.

Back in the early to mid 1960s North Vietnam was about equidistant from Beijing and Moscow, and played them off each other.

Ten years later Vietnam had decisively shifted towards Moscow. This shift had everything to do with the path that the war took. When it was guerilla 'people's war' there were much closer ties to China, but as it became more and more conventional, reliance on the Soviets grew heavier. Economically too the Soviets had much more to offer at that point.

By the 1980s the Chinese conditions for normalisation of ties with the Soviet Union was Soviet troops out of Afghanistan and Mongolia and Vietnamese troops out of Cambodia. Gorbachev eventually gave them what they wanted for cost reasons, and Putin has never looked back.

After that Sihanouk, the Chinese and the Americans all abandoned the Khemr Rouge. Vietnamese influence in Cambodia is no longer a serious flashpoint issue.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 20 May 2011 00:02

The Archeological Survey of India participated in the restoration of Angkor Wat between 1982 and the end of that decade, fixing the place after some of the Khmer Rouge neglect and plunder. The Cambodians venerate Angkor Wat - theirs is the only flag with a building on it, and it is a Hindu temple (later to become a Buddhist one).

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 20 May 2011 02:22

"New Pro China tilt is a stealth move by PRC/Uncle gang who are working on grand architecture to remove Indian influence from asian landmass."

Without being suspicious, there is some truth to the above statement. One rarely finds mention of Indian influence in South East Asia, or Asia as a whole, by Americans, Chinese and Britishers. Outside of the lone academic probably swimming against the current.Though it was India that had the largest amount of influence, and positively in SE Asia and Tibet.

The word "Asian" is used( outside of the UK) to describe people of East Asian background. But Asia really extends from Israel to Japan. Israelis, Iranians, Indians, Burmese, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans are all Asian. Common, uninformed, misinformed, or deliberately false parlance turns "Asian" into purely East Asian( Chinese, Japanese, Korean), ignoring the rest, particularly India and westwards.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 20 May 2011 02:29

Sounds very, very cynical, Johann. If an outsider were to look at the so called "Cold War" as polarity of Freedom/Democracy versus Dictatorship/totalitarianism, he would be very confused, and SE Asia would create the greatest confusion.You need a scorecard to see the different 'players'. The Chinese particularly have a lot to answer for, with their support of the genocidal Khmer Rouge. They have essentially, till date, gotten away with openly supporting a genocide, the worst one after WW 2. And if Tony Montana is read correctly, the Chinese don't really care that they in effect did this( support an horrific genocide).

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 20 May 2011 02:46

When one sees what sick games were being played with the lives of people( i.e 2 million Cambodians), one realises that the cold war had a lot less, if anything, to do with a transcendental, human spirit opposition to totalitarianism, and much more to do with power games, influence peddling,resource control, arms sales and empire building.

Seen in this light, India's actions in East Pakistan, while not motivated at all times, by all persons concerned, by the purest, angelic feelings, did
actually *result* in the inauguration of a democratic, pluralist regime, even if temporary. Can the US or China in SE Asia make even a ghost of a claim to supporting freedom, democracy and pluralism against dictatorship. What a farce.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 27 Jun 2011 23:18

The top surviving Khmer Rouge leaders stand trial in front of a tribunal. The UN backed panel is apparently the last chance for Cambodia to bring accountability and justice, although the defendants plead not guilty.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 03 Jul 2011 11:57

Thailand carrying out a crucial vote today. The kingdom, deeply divided over the choice of Yingluck Shinawatra and the ruling party, led by PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has its first major electoral test after last year's opposition rallies and large scale civil violence incidents.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 03 Jul 2011 19:37

Thailand’s Female Prime Minister

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 04 Jul 2011 00:41

Now that's a gorgeous gal! Now if only I was India's PM ...

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 04 Jul 2011 07:28

The making of a prime minister

Ms Yingluck, the youngest of nine children of Lert and Yindee Shinawatra, received her first degree in political science from Chiang Mai University in 1988 and a post-graduate degree from Kentucky State University two years later. Staunchly guarded about her private life, Ms Yingluck has one son with her common-law husband, Anusorn Amornchat, the managing director of M Link Asia, a mobile phone distributor partly owned by her sister Yaowapa. Her work experience has been gained entirely with Shinawatra-family businesses, starting at Shinawatra Directories Co, a company set up to offer telephone directory services.

Ms Yingluck originally turned down overtures from the party as she did not welcome the intense scrutiny which a life lived in the public eye entails. "I'm not ready to give up my life, and particularly my son's happiness, in exchange for the top spot on the party list," she told one Pheu Thai insider earlier this year.

Thaksin and other senior party figures quickly mapped out a plan to help mould her image into one worthy of Government House. Veteran politician Sudarat Keyuraphan, a Thaksin confidante dating back to their days together with the Palang Dharma Party, brought in a team of experts each given the task of building up her statesmanship. Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisal, former head of iTV, a now-defunct news channel once under the Shin Group, was asked to manage media relations and campaign rallies. Even her body language was re-examined and reshaped _ the way she gives a wai, the traditional Thai greeting, was made more informal on the stump to help convey a more friendly, open image.

Issues for the new Pheu Thai government

Political observers note that one reason for the Democrat Party's defeat is that it failed to effectively tackle the country's economic problems. The Abhisit Vejjajiva government, while admitting that the people faced rising living costs, also put the blame on global economic factors, including high oil prices. Grass roots people, on the other hand, hope that the Pheu Thai Party will be able to improve their quality of life. But this worries economists who are afraid that many populist policies pledged by Pheu Thai will, if they are all implemented, put the country's economy at risk of collapse. Taking one of them as an example, the promise to raise the minimum wage to 300 baht a day which is about a 30% increase from the current level. This would only force many entrepreneurs out of business as they would be unable to afford to pay the higher wages.

But what worries many in society most is the idea that has been proposed by some within Pheu Thai of granting amnesty to Thaksin and also returning 46 billion baht to him. They fear that Pheu Thai, once it takes power and goes ahead with such a move, would face fierce political protests and society will be plunged into even worse unrest than what it has seen in the past few years.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 05 Jul 2011 10:41

India to set up chair for Buddhist studies in Cambodia

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 14 Jul 2011 12:55

Our good friend Vietnam is getting bullied.

-----------

Vietnam: Chinese soldiers attack fishermen

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Armed Chinese soldiers allegedly beat a Vietnamese fisherman and threatened other crew members before driving them out of waters near disputed South China Sea islands claimed by both countries, a Vietnamese official said Thursday.

A Chinese navy ship chased the fishermen before dispatching a speedboat with 10 soldiers armed with automatic rifles and batons, a border official in Vietnam's central Quang Ngai province said on condition of anonymity, citing policy. The soldiers boarded the fishing boat near the contested Paracel Islands.

The soldiers punched and kicked the Vietnamese captain and threatened nine other crew members in the July 5 incident, he said, adding the captain was not injured.

The Vietnamese official said the Chinese soldiers confiscated one ton of fish from the boat and drove it from the area. The fishermen continued working before coming to shore and reporting the incident to authorities Wednesday, he said.

The incident is the latest flare-up in an ongoing maritime spat between the communist neighbors that has increased regional tensions after both countries recently announced they had conducted live-fire naval drills in the South China Sea.

Twice since May, Vietnam has accused China of interfering in its oil and gas exploration efforts. China instead says Vietnam endangered its fishermen.

Vietnam and China both claim the resource-rich Paracels. China has stationed troops there since driving out South Vietnamese soldiers in 1974, one year before the end of the Vietnam War.

The recent blowup has sparked rare demonstrations near the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi for the past six weekends despite the detention of protesters and journalists covering the event Sunday.

Last month, a Vietnamese envoy traveled to Beijing for talks with Chinese officials where they agreed to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

China also has been sparring with the Philippines over the nearby Spratly Islands.

http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-chinese-s ... 53883.html

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 19 Jul 2011 06:55

Thailand-Cambodia and the Preah Vihear temple

International Court of Justice ruled Monday on Cambodia's demand for an order forcing Thailand to withdraw all troops from the disputed territory around Preah Vihear temple. The court directed both countries to withdraw their troops from the disputed area.

Some 75 US diplomatic cables provided to the Bangkok Post by Wikileaks report that Phnom Penh put increasing military pressure and threats on Thailand as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) demonstrated against the Cambodian policies of the Thaksin-backed governments in 2008. Diplomats describe the Thai reaction to a key meeting on Oct 13, 2008 when Hun Sen issued his first startling demand to then-foreign minister Sompong Amornvivat, that Thailand must withdraw all troops around the temple "if not tonight, then tomorrow". The Thai troops at issue were a 60-man unit trying to remove mines placed by Cambodian forces inside the disputed region around the temple.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 20 Jul 2011 17:46

Another Indian naval ship on visit to Nha Rhong port in Vietnam.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 22 Jul 2011 07:26

Over the next two days, SM Krishna will be participating in the 9th India-ASEAN post ministerial conference, the 16-nation East Asia Summit foreign ministers consultations and the ARF Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 22 Jul 2011 07:37

apparently Bali is 92% Hindu population.

nithish · Post by **nithish** » 13 Aug 2011 00:16

'The East has been deeply influenced by India'

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has opened a centre in the South Korean capital Seoul and set up a chair of Sanskrit at the Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University in Cambodia. These initiatives are part of the Indian government's 'Look East' policy. ICCR president talked with Shobhan Saxena about India's growing soft power and need for more engagement with countries in our extended neighbourhood : Karan Singh

Why is India suddenly promoting cultural ties with East Asian countries?
Till recently we have had very sparse representation in the region. So i decided that we should "Look East" as part of the government of India's policy. In the last six years, i've opened nine cultural centres - Kabul, Kathmandu, Thimphu, Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Beijing, Tokyo and now Seoul. With the West we have a lot of people coming and going, but we don't have the same ties with East Asian nations. Secondly, the East has been so deeply influenced by India for thousands of years. Buddhism was a great influence. Angkor Wat is surely the most extraordinary place of worship in the world.

So i thought let's renew our cultural relations with these countries. Let's pick up the threads which had snapped because of centuries of colonial domination. We used to have flourishing trade with these countries. But after the Muslim invasion and colonial domination, our ties with the East were very much destroyed. So to renew our ties we've decided to open these cultural centres.

Of late, Indian foreign policy has been more focus-sed on the West?
I'm trying to make up for it. We have been very Euro-centric and America-centric but it's important now that we take a more balanced view. China particularly for example. Maybe i'm compensating for it. Indian foreign policy is also beginning to look East slightly more than it was earlier.

Is China a factor in this?
Economically and culturally both. The great structures are all Indian - the Borobodur, Angkor Wat - but there is a lot of Chinese influence on their language, food and way of life. However, we are not really in competition with China there. We are developing our centres, the Chinese are doing their own thing. They are setting up 100 Confucius centres around the world ostensibly to teach Chinese but probably they also double up as cultural centres.

Is there any assessment of India's soft power?
By definition soft power is unquantifiable. When you have trade you know so many millions of dollars, so many billions of dollars, so much exports and imports. But with soft power, if i have a beautiful Bharatanatyam performance in Kuala Lumpur, there is no way of assessing how much influence it has. But, i think, cumulatively there is an improvement. If nothing else there is a reviving of the ancient ties between India and these countries.

Are there any plans for Iran?
We are hoping to open a centre there. We are negotiating with them. They have a cultural centre here and it's not fair that we don't have a centre there. We don't have many centres in West Asia though we have opened one in Cairo. We can do music and academic programmes in these countries if they have a problem with our dances. In fact, we also want to open a cultural centre in Pakistan. But so far they have not agreed. That's the only country in Saarc where we don't have a centre. We are going to open one in Maldives.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 14 Aug 2011 07:20

Singapore will lose vitality and drive without immigrants: Lee Kuan Yew

Singapore's former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has acknowledged the pressures new immigrants have placed on citizens and home prices in the country. Many Singaporeans attributed the rise in home prices to new Permanent Residents and citizens from China and India....But home prices aside, citizens are feeling the pressure in other aspects.

Mr Lee said: "On competition for jobs, and especially competition, pressure on their children to do well in schools. The new migrants having left his home must go all out to succeed in the country that he or she has adopted. That is to be expected and therefore, we must accept that they are going to do their best and if doing their best puts pressure on us, our children, it may be good for them because they will also have to put in effort to do their best to keep up."

Mr Lee stressed Singapore needs immigrants to bump up the country's low birth rate. "Our birth rate last year was 1.1, down from the year before at 1.22. Every year, 30 or more per cent of men or women stay single. They are doing good jobs, earning good pay and unless they meet the ideal man or ideal woman, they are quite happy living their lives because they can afford it...and those who are married are having few children and having them later. So if we do not take in migrants, we will become an old, diminishing society with no vitality and no drive."

And against the backdrop of debt problems in the American economy and the EU facing a currency crisis, Mr Lee remains confident that Singapore will pull through. This, despite some economists warning of a double dip recession. That is because the twin giants of China and India are still growing rapidly. Mr Lee said their growth has saved Singapore from "going down like the US and the EU". Singapore's economy is projected to grow between five and six per cent this year.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Aug 2011 17:55

The Burma factor.US moves.

http://the-diplomat.com/2011/08/05/from ... dium=email

From Burma Road to Road Map
August 05, 2011

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

The Carrier of Asia-Pacific Troubles
An aircraft carrier gives Beijing tremendous capabilities and could worsen regional tensions..

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 18 Aug 2011 16:31

Published on Aug 05, 2011
By Jonathan Berkshire Miller
India Enters China's Backyard: Asia Sentinel

The state visit began in South Korea from June 25-26 as both sides used it as a platform to announce their growing partnership on a variety of themes such as civil nuclear cooperation, increased trade and enhanced defense ties.

The crown jewel of this visit was the nuclear pact agreed by both parties which will allow South Korea to export its nuclear technology and expertise to India. By signing the agreement, South Korea becomes the ninth country to enter into a nuclear partnership with New Delhi.

Geopolitically, the two states have aligned priorities aimed at building upon a strategic hedge – supported by other regional players such as the United States, Japan and Vietnam -- against the emergence of China and the possibility of a Sino-centric continent. The partnership also makes sense for Seoul considering that it allows the administration of President Lee Myung-Bak to refrain from entering into a more fulsome alliance with Japan, which remains politically sensitive.

China has reason to worry about a growing Korea-India partnership, but continues to make the shrewd calculation that this is a pact built upon economics and – at least currently – lacks strategic depth.

Published on Aug 18, 2011
By Jonathan Berkshire Miller
India in China's Backyard: Part II: Asia Sentinel

The second part of the trip centered on building up India’s growing relationship with Mongolia.

Over the past several decades, Indo-Mongolian relations have been consistent if not robust. One of the recent high watermarks of the bilateral relationship came in 2005, when Mongolia formally offered its support to New Delhi’s bid to be included as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. India reciprocated with the provision of considerable amounts of foreign development assistance and a series of diplomatic visits.

While the most recent overture from the Indian government was sprinkled with soft undertones, it was fundamentally grounded around real objectives in the areas of energy security, trade and defense cooperation. New Delhi continues to be hungry for new energy sources and this was one of the main themes of discussion between the two sides in Ulan Bator. Patil and Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj agreed to bolster bilateral energy relations in the nuclear energy and mining sectors by looking at new opportunities for investment and cooperation.

This builds on a joint statement in 2010 in which both countries agreed to “operationalize” civil nuclear cooperation and look at potential joint ventures in the uranium mining sector. While the India-Mongolian pact lacks the scope and commitment of the agreement earlier last month with South Korea, it nonetheless demonstrates that New Delhi is determined not to be left behind competitors in Mongolia’s nascent uranium market.

Patil and Elbegdorj also agreed to strengthen defense ties between their two countries through the signing of a bilateral defense cooperation agreement. The pact is not overly comprehensive though as Mongolia remains cautious about getting too cozy with India on defense issues. India however seems keen to enhance defense ties even more and Patil noted this to the Mongolian press. The rationale behind this is simple - New Delhi believes that it will be more competitive in the mining and trade sectors if it diversifies its engagement with Mongolia in order to morph from investor to strategic partner.

India has done its research and recognizes the potential benefits of investing in the Mongolian market. According to figures from the World Bank, the Mongolian economy is set to grow by 22.9 percent in 2013, making it not only the fastest growing economy in Asia, but the entire world. Patil noted that such predictions are “staggering” and that the Indian government and business community “must take due notice.” Of primary interest to India is Mongolia's mineral sector, including significant reserves of coal, copper, gold and uranium.

Patil sweetened this package of agreements by committing to invest approximately $20 million USD towards the set up of an India-Mongolia Joint Information Technology, Education and Outsourcing Center based in Ulan Bator. India also expressed its desire to improve the connectivity of the two nations through media exchanges, people-to-people ties, student exchanges and increased tourism.

These soft power overtures can be expected to help India develop its relations with a rising energy power in Central Asia and lend influence in a region led by Chinese investment and influence. Moral of the story: while China looks west, India looks east.

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 18 Sep 2011 16:21

Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 27 Sep 2011 16:05

Borneo Tribe Practices Its Own Kind of Hinduism

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 29 Sep 2011 18:32

Japan a gauge of India's 'Look East' policy

India's inability to forge deeper strategic ties with Japan beyond rhetoric on greater economic, security and nuclear engagement is indicative of wider failings in its two-decade-old "Look East" policy. Despite holding the necessary financial and military cards to become a major player in East Asia, a lack of strategic vision has prevented Delhi from challenging China in setting the regional agenda.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 01 Nov 2011 08:36

Pilgrims flocking to India: Bangkok Post

The circuit incorporates various holy sites in Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Rajgir, Varanasi, Nalanda, Lumbini, Kushinagar and Sravasti, all associated with places where the Buddha was born, preached, attained enlightenment and died. In the winter, from October-March, the regular traffic includes Thais and visitors from industrialised countries, both regulars and new Buddhist devotees. Last week, my group alone included people from Mexico, Mauritius, Italy, Hong Kong, the UK, Canada and India.

Separately, two other large all-Thai groups were also travelling on the Mahaparinirvan Express, a special rail journey organised by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, a division within the massive Indian railway system that caters to foreign visitors. The rolling stock is leased from the railway enterprise and the price of US$150 to $160 per person per night is affordable to a middle-class market, preventing it from becoming too elitist.

Nalanda, site of what is claimed to be the world's oldest university, has been cleaned up extensively, with security guards posted to stop graffiti scrawling, one of the biggest problems at the sites. Thais are coming in droves, to the extent where the young urchins in one village near a holy spot can even now count in Thai. The entire area is dotted with numerous Thai temples and monasteries that are well-maintained, thanks to the huge funds coming in via donations as well as purchases of souvenirs, amulets and Buddha images.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 Nov 2011 02:06

Carl wrote:Japan a gauge of India's 'Look East' policy
India's inability to forge deeper strategic ties with Japan beyond rhetoric on greater economic, security and nuclear engagement is indicative of wider failings in its two-decade-old "Look East" policy. Despite holding the necessary financial and military cards to become a major player in East Asia, a lack of strategic vision has prevented Delhi from challenging China in setting the regional agenda.

India is already in the east and is a eastern country. why does it need a look east policy

For India to work with asean countries is natural since they are together

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 02 Nov 2011 02:14

^ truth is stranger than fiction

It stings...

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 Nov 2011 02:17

It is a DIE creation since DIE elite think that they are from the western hemisphere

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 02 Nov 2011 19:37

Acharya wrote:
India is already in the east and is a eastern country. why does it need a look east policy

For India to work with asean countries is natural since they are together

ASEAn had long back invited India to join as member and same was promptly declined. And look east policy is to look east of India and associate with those countries in ASEAN. Though it is natural but we realised the importance rather late.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 02 Nov 2011 19:59

Yes but East Asia is Easter!

Each country has to define Geography from its PoV. In India's "Look East", the East is not being defined according to American sense of geography, for in that geography India would indeed be in the East. Rather, we are defining it according to our sense of Geography with India at the center. From India, the "Look East" policy nomenclature makes perfect sense!

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 02 Nov 2011 20:21

RajeshA wrote:Yes but East Asia is Easter!

Each country has to define Geography from its PoV. In India's "Look East", the East is not being defined according to American sense of geography, for in that geography India would indeed be in the East. Rather, we are defining it according to our sense of Geography with India at the center. From India, the "Look East" policy nomenclature makes perfect sense!

Exactly, I think older classifications makes more sense to us.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 Nov 2011 23:09

It is about the culture and near abroad and our sphere of cultural heritage.
They have tried to remove India from it heritage historical capital and tried it very hard.
But the world will come back to Indian centrism.

From historical capital POV Asean is India culture and Indo Pacific is center of the world as in the historic world.

'Look East' word is an oxymoron

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 03 Nov 2011 03:04

Indo-Pacific naval partnership open to Delhi and Canberra BY: C. RAJA MOHAN From: The Australian November 02, 2011 12:00AM

It is useful to remember that India was at the centre of Britain's security strategy in the Indian Ocean from the late-18th to mid-20th centuries and gave the British Raj much needed resources for the maintenance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

After independence and the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, India became preoccupied with defending its new land borders with Pakistan and China. An inward economic orientation and the foreign policy of non-alignment made India's "sea-blindness" more acute.

Throughout the Cold War, India adopted a policy of military isolationism and demanded that great powers vacate the Indian Ocean.

This began to change in the 1990s as India started to open its economy.

The new reliance on the sea for importing an ever-growing requirement of energy and mineral resources, and exporting its products to widely dispersed global markets, meant India would naturally turn towards building a blue-water navy.

India also began to emphasise naval engagement and maritime co-operation with all major powers, especially the US, and revitalised its historic maritime links with the smaller island states of the Indian Ocean,

With a growing economy and expanding naval capabilities, India is more self-assured in the way it thinks about ocean spaces around it.

India's security perimeter had been defined as stretching from the Aden to Malacca. India is now looking beyond the Strait of Malacca to include the South China Sea in its security calculus.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Nov 2011 03:51

Till the late sixties, ie before the US Seventh Fleet ventured into Indina Ocean, the Commonwealth navies policed the Indian Ocean. The ships of each Navy (British Eastern fleet in Aden, RAN, IN, RNZN0 were complimentary.

What we are seeing now is the joint IN and 7th fleet merger of operations.

Arav · Post by **Arav** » 03 Nov 2011 08:04

India is engaging with Japan, Vietnam. But Phillipines is missing from Indian radar. Phillipines is placed at a very critical location. gurus any comment why?