News India and Asean look to each other to balance against China’s rise
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India, Vietnam deepen defence ties as Delhi seeks to boost maritime presence in Indo-Pacific
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Hong Ha Shipyard in Vietnam to hand over 12 high-speed patrol boats.
NEW DELHI - India handed over 12 high-speed patrol boats to Vietnam on Thursday (June 9), a day after inking a mutual logistics agreement allowing the use of each others' military bases in a significant expansion of defence and security ties - all with an eye on China.
The two countries also signed a vision statement on defence ties till 2030.
The agreements come as India steps up its maritime presence in the Indo-Pacific and increases defence linkages with South-east Asia.
The patrol boats were built under a US$100 million (S$137.6 million) defence line of credit that India extended to Vietnam in 2014.
Five boats were manufactured in India and seven at Hong Ha Shipyard in Vietnam.
At the handover ceremony on Thursday, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said: "I'm confident that this will be a precursor to many more cooperative defence projects between India and Vietnam."
On Wednesday, the two countries signed a mutual logistical agreement - a first for Vietnam - that allows their militaries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
The Indian Defence Ministry in a press release called the agreement a "major step towards simplifying procedures for mutually beneficial logistic support".
Mr Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang also signed a Joint Vision Statement On India-Vietnam Defence Partnership Towards 2030, which India's Defence Ministry said "will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation".
India in 2016 extended Vietnam a separate US$500 million line of credit to source or jointly manufacture defence weapons with India.
Vietnam is reportedly also looking to purchase India-made BrahMos medium-range supersonic cruise missiles.
India earlier this year sold the Philippines these missiles, which were jointly developed by India and Russia.
India and Vietnam have a deepening defence relationship, fuelled by common fears over the rising assertiveness of China.
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (second from left) and Vietnam's Defence Minister Phan Van Giang in Hanoi on June 8, 2022. PHOTO: AFP
India has border troubles with China which flared up in 2020 following a violent clash in which both sides lost soldiers in the Ladakh region. Two years on, the two countries are still working through disengagement.
Vietnam, on the other hand, has competing claims with China near the Paracel Islands and has in the past objected to Chinese military drills in the disputed area, accusing Beijing of advancing territorial claims during the pandemic.
Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan from the Observer Research Foundation also noted that while the logistical agreement was Vietnam's first, India had been signing such agreements with many countries.
"I think it's important to see which countries India is signing these kinds of agreements with. One with Russia but other than that primarily with Indo-Pacific powers who remain wary of China, like Australia, Singapore, Japan and the United States. Now signing with Vietnam suggests that the China threat is large in our thinking."
She added: "The agreements will give India a firmer foothold in Vietnam. And India will find ways to continue improving the India-Vietnam relationship."
Vietnam, like many other South-east Asian countries, has sought deeper defence ties with India.
It has also been keen for India, as the other large Asian power, to have a larger presence in South-east Asia and in the South China Sea.
While India is unlikely to undertake a joint patrol with the US, for instance, Dr Rajagopalan noted that "inch by inch, very gradually", India was making changes in its approach to South-east Asia with greater defence engagement.
Former commander of the Indian Army's Northern Command D.S. Hooda said closer defence cooperation could help the two countries respond to any situation requiring joint military collaboration.
"(The agreement) helps in how countries can assist each other in promoting their defence capability in terms of training and sharing of logistics. Some ports of Vietnam would be able to provide support for the Indian navy and vice versa. If a situation arises then there will be know-how on how two navies can operate in support of each other," the retired lieutenant-general said.
Still, he noted that greater ties with Vietnam also indicated India's maritime ambitions.
"China already has a great deal of influence in South-east Asia but India would like to see its influence in this region increasing," he added.
India, Vietnam deepen defence ties as Delhi seeks to boost maritime presence in Indo-Pacific
Vietnam reportedly also looking to buy India-made BrahMos medium-range supersonic cruise missiles. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
India, Vietnam Sign Agreement On Mutual Logistics Support; First Such Major Pact Inked By Hanoi With Any Country
In a positive development, India and Vietnam on Wednesday (8 June) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam's capital Hanoi.The development gains significance as the MoU is the first such major agreement which Vietnam has signed with any country.
Singh held bilateral talks with Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang in Hanoi on 8 June.
According to a Defence Ministry statement, wide-ranging discussions on effective and practical initiatives to further expand bilateral defence engagements and regional and global issues were held between the two sides.
The two Defence Ministers also signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’, which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation.
"A Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support was also inked in the presence of both the Ministers. In these times of increasing cooperative engagements between the defence forces of the two countries, this is a major step towards simplifying procedures for mutually beneficial logistic support and is the first such major agreement which Vietnam has signed with any country," the ministry said.
The two ministers also agreed for early finalisation of $500 million Defence Line of Credit extended to Vietnam.
Implementation of the projects shall add substantially to Vietnam’s defence capabilities and further Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’, the ministry said.
Singh also announced gifting two simulators and monetary grant towards setting up of Language and IT Lab at Air Force Officers Training School for capacity building of Vietnamese Armed Forces.
Indian, Thai armies hold talks to boost cooperation
"The talks were conducted in an extremely cordial environment and both sides discussed the conduct of bilateral military exercise Maitree," an official said. He said the deliberations also focused on enhancing training programmes and a roadmap was prepared for defence cooperation.
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During the FOCs, India, and Singapore reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction at the present level of engagement between both sides
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Indian Army hands over 4 explosive detection dogs to Cambodian military
“Previously India Army had gifted 15 dogs in 2016 to Cambodia”, Army officials said
ASEAN-India Media Exchange Programme concludes on high note as Indian Media delegation calls on Cambodian Minister of Information
An Indian media delegation on a visit to Singapore and Cambodia under the ASEAN-INDIA Media Exchange programme called on the Cambodian Minister of Information, Mr. Khieu Kanharith in Phnom Penh today.On the concluding day of the visit, the delegation shared their experiences about the media exchange programme with him.
Mr. Kanharith apprised the delegation of the civilizational links between the two countries. On India’s steadfast support and contribution for restoration of Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm temples, he said India and Combodia are not just neighbours but members of one family.
The Minister emphasized that more such exchange programmes must be conducted between the two countries to strengthen the people-to-people connect.
The delegation also asked him about the possibility of starting a direct flight between Phnom Penh and New Delhi, a suggestion which he accepted positively and assured that the matter would be taken up at the highest levels of the governments of the two countries.
This would go a long way in boosting tourism, trade, investment and economy of the two countries.
Mr. Kanharith expressed confidence in the sustainability of the ASEAN-India media exchange programme.
At summit, India & ASEAN reaffirm importance of freedom of navigation
In an oblique reference to China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, India and the ASEAN countries on Saturday reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and peaceful resolution of disputes.This was stated in the joint statement of the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar is representing India at the summit.
The two sides agreed to advance maritime ties and enhance cooperation against terrorism, transnational crimes and cybercrimes.
The joint statement said that they reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with the principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They also agreed to “enhance cooperation against terrorism and transnational crimes including international economic crimes and money laundering, cybercrime, drugs and human trafficking and arms smuggling,” the statement said.
Dhankhar and Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties, including in areas such as human resource, de-mining and development projects.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’. At summit, India & ASEAN reaffirm importance of freedom of navigation
Joint Statement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
November 12, 2022
WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of India, on the occasion of the 19th ASEAN-India Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations, on 12 November 2022 in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
ACKNOWLEDGING the deep civilizational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges between Southeast Asia and India which have grown stronger over the last 30 years, providing a strong foundation for ASEAN-India relations;
REAFFIRMING our commitment to guide the ASEAN-India Partnership by the principles and norms enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the ASEAN Charter, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the Declaration of the East Asia Summit (EAS) on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations, the Delhi Declaration of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to mark the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations (2018);
NOTING that both the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) share relevant fundamental principles in promoting peace and cooperation as outlined in the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the AOIP for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region adopted at the 18th ASEAN-India Summit in 2021;
NOTING the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/76/72 which emphasises, in the Preamble, the universal and unified character of the 1982 UNCLOS, and which reaffirms that the Convention sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of strategic importance as the basis for national, regional and global action and cooperation in the marine sector, and that its integrity needs to be maintained;
APPRECIATING India’s support for ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture and its continued contribution to regional peace, security, and prosperity and to ASEAN integration and the ASEAN Community building process;
RECOGNISING the successful implementation of the ASEAN-India Plans of Action for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity through ASEAN-India Fund (AIF), ASEAN-India Green Fund (AIGF), ASEAN-India Science & Technology Development Fund (AISTDF) as well as through project-specific direct financial assistance;
COMMENDING various commemorative activities to celebrate 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations which is designated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year, notably the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in New Delhi in June 2022; the visit of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly delegation to India in August 2022; the ASEAN-India High Level Conference on Renewable Energy in February 2022; the launch of ASEAN-India Network of Universities in August 2022; the ASEAN-India Artists Camp in October 2022, and some planned activities, including an ASEAN-India Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting and Maritime Exercises, the ASEAN-India Music Festival and the Youth Summit;
Do hereby declare to:
1. Establish the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that is meaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial, and task our officials to follow up on its implementation;
2. Reaffirm the importance of maintaining ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific, and deepen dialogue and coordination through existing ASEAN-led mechanisms and fora, including the ASEAN – India Summit, the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Post Ministerial Conference with India (PMC+1), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), and cooperate on initiatives to support and contribute to the ASEAN Integration and Community-building process;
3. Reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the relevant standards and recommended practices by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO);
4. Advance maritime cooperation, including in maritime security, countering piracy and armed robbery against ships, maritime safety, and search and rescue (SAR) operations humanitarian assistance, disaster management, and emergency response and relief;
5. Explore concrete activities to implement the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the AOIP for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region through enhanced cooperation between the AOIP and the IPOI, with a focus on maritime cooperation, connectivity, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and economic and other possible areas of cooperation;
6. Enhance cooperation against terrorism and transnational crimes including international economic crimes and money laundering, cybercrime, drugs and human trafficking, and arms smuggling; and in military medicine while reaffirming that it plays an important role and offers to ensure health security in the region;
7. Strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity, such as through establishing new dialogue platforms between ASEAN and India, and working closely with the ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, and the ADMM Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence;
8. Expedite the review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make it more user-friendly, simple, and trade-facilitative, and work together to forge resilient supply chains, explore cooperation on Single Window platform to enhance trade facilitation and integration, and promote the development of MSMEs and start-ups, including through business-matching events with the facilitation by the ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC);
9. Enhance ASEAN-India cooperation on digital economy through a series of regional capacity-building activities in digital transformation, digital trade, digital skills and innovation, as well as Hackathons;
10. Explore fintech cooperation including unified and interoperable digital financial systems between ASEAN and India, which would expand opportunities for businesses and e-commerce;
11. Enhance cooperation in transport and connectivity in land, air and maritime domains, including through the early completion and operationalisation of the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway while looking forward to its eastward extension to Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam, and exploring synergies between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, and India’s connectivity initiatives under its Act East Policy in line with the "Connecting the Connectivities” approach, to strengthen regional connectivity;
12. Enhance cooperation in the field of environment, including biodiversity and climate change as well as explore cooperation in the field of energy security, including cooperation on clean, renewable, and low-carbon energy in line with the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2021-2025 and India’s renewable energy priorities, as well as other national models and priorities such as bio-circular-green development;
13. Enhance cooperation in smart agriculture including exchange of best practices in the use of new technologies to develop a future-ready, resilient, and sustainable food supply;
14. Explore cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation in areas such as blue economy, healthcare, climate action and sustainable development;
15. Explore cooperation such as city-to-city partnerships between ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) and Smart City Mission of India by fostering exchanges of best practices and capacity-building to help build cities that are resilient, innovative, well-connected, and technologically advanced;
16. Strengthen healthcare for the peoples by, enhancing collaboration on public health including in the areas of research and development (R&D), public health emergency preparedness, training of healthcare professionals, medical technology, pharmaceuticals, vaccine security and self-reliance, vaccine development and production, as well as general and traditional medicine;
17. Further enhance ASEAN-India cooperation in the space sector including through the establishment of a Tracking, Data Reception and Processing Stations in Viet Nam and Indonesia, and encourage cooperation between ASEAN and Indian space industry players, including in new areas of collaboration;
18. Further expand existing projects with ASEAN, including under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), such as the Centres of Excellence in Software Development and Training (CESDT); scholarship schemes under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), ASEAN-India Science & Technology Collaboration and Nalanda University; and explore Quick Impact Project (QIP)s under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation forum;
19. Promote the revival of tourism and related industries which have been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, through effective implementation of the ASEAN-India Tourism Work Plans;
20. Enhance exchanges and cooperation in the areas of culture, education, media and academia by further expanding the existing cooperation under initiatives such as Doctoral Fellowships in India for ASEAN, ASEAN-India Network of Universities, ASEAN-India Youth Summits and hackathons, and continue to work on activities such as the ASEAN Culture Heritage List;
21. Establish and strengthen the institutional linkages between corresponding institutes of India and ASEAN under all the pillars of cooperation;
22. Promote complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through cooperation with the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD);
23. Explore potential synergies with sub-regional frameworks, such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Indonesia-Malaysia- Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), Singapore-Johor-Riau (SIJORI) Growth Triangle, Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia- Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), and Mekong sub-regional cooperation frameworks, including Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and Ayeyawady Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), and to support ASEAN and India’s efforts in promoting equitable development by aligning sub-regional growth with the comprehensive, mutual growth and development of ASEAN and India;
24. Continue to work together on regional and global issues of common concern while endeavouring to strengthen our partnership through the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which shall contribute to further strengthening ASEAN-India relations through strategic cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
ADOPTED in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the Twelfth of November in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Two.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
November 12, 2022
Joint Statement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
Joint Statement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
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India is a rising force in Southeast Asia as region seeks to counter China’s dominance
India is taking major strides to expand its influence in Southeast Asia, a move that will allow countries to counter China’s dominance in the region.“India certainly is becoming more ambitious in Southeast Asia. There is no doubt about it,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president for studies and foreign policy at Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank.
It has also become “more forceful and more upfront” about its ties with the region, he added.
Growing rivalry between India and China is seen as influencing New Delhi’s strategic calculation in strengthening its presence.
For a long time, Indian leaders had been “hesitant and reticent” about the country’s role in the region, due to its own tensions with China along the Himalayan border, noted Pant.
Relations have been fraught since a border clash with Chinese forces in 2020, which killed at least 20 Indian soldiers, according to the Indian army.
“I think the understanding in New Delhi had been: Let’s not wade into waters where China might be more uncomfortable,” Pant told CNBC, adding that Beijing has “enormous potential to create trouble for India.”
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Since China hasn’t “budged” on the border issue, India “now feels there has been no real return for its cautious attitude towards Southeast Asia,” he added.
India’s foreign ministry did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
In June, India’s external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, highlighted the border conflict was affecting relations between the two countries.
Until Sino-India relations achieve “some sense of normalcy,” Pant said, New Delhi has few options but to ramp up ties with countries — “big or small around China’s periphery, to ensure it has some leverage.”
Tightening ties
In recent months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has stepped up its outreach to regional countries aimed at balancing Beijing’s aggression.The move reinforces India’s ongoing comprehensive strategic partnership with Southeast Asia.
In June, New Delhi said it was giving a naval warship to Vietnam, in the latest sign of growing defense ties between both nations, said Satoru Nagao, non-resident fellow at Hudson Institute, based in Tokyo.
“India also trains pilots and ground crew of fighter jets of the Vietnam Air Force. Indian naval ships visited Vietnam constantly,” he added.
Vietnam is now planning to buy supersonic missiles and surface-to-air missiles from India, said Nagao, who specializes in defense strategy, foreign policy and security alliances.
“India’s ‘Look East’ policy began in 1991, well before China’s growing assertiveness was a real problem in Southeast Asia,” said Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation.
“But by 2014, when Modi turned the policy into ‘Act East,’ it was apparent that the region and world was dealing with a different kind of China — Xi’s China — which sought to flex its power more often and farther from Chinese shores,” he said referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Activists display anti-China placards and flags during a protest at a park in Manila on June 18, 2019, after a Chinese vessel last week collided with a Philippine fishing boat which sank in the disputed South China Sea and sailed away sparking outrage. Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP) (Photo by TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images)
Ted Aljibe | Afp | Getty Images
India caused a stir in late June when its foreign minister and his Filipino counterpart, Enrique Manalo, issued a joint statement, urging China to abide by The Hague’s 2016 arbitration decision on the South China Sea.
The joint statement sparked speculation that New Delhi was shifting away from its neutral posture on competing territorial claims in the region.
In a landmark ruling on the South China Sea dispute, the international tribunal in The Hague unanimously ruled in favor of the Philippines in a historic case against China.
China has rejected the 2016 ruling, describing it as “illegal and void.”
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea — an assertion that is rejected by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines among others, in competing claims for the resource-rich waterway.
India “is bolstering strategic ties — diplomatic, economic, and security — to Southeast Asian states to help them balance or hedge against, or outright counter Chinese power,” said Rand’s Grossman.
“This is particularly salient to the maritime sphere, namely the South China Sea, where overlapping sovereignty disputes threaten regional stability and openness,” he added.
Complex dynamic
China’s expanding influence through its Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia is also driving India’s calculation, according to Joanne Lin, co-coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS, at Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.As a result, “safeguarding India’s security, especially maritime security will be important,” Lin added.
Most countries in the region have supported China’s mega infrastructure project — Xi’s signature policy initiative aimed at expanding Beijing’s influence through a network of road, rail and sea connections across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Observers note Beijing’s more strident foreign policy, coupled with the political and economic leverage it could exert through the Belt and Road, has raised concerns in the region.
Readjusting to an evolving international order defined primarily by the China-U.S. rivalry has also proven particularly challenging for Southeast Asian countries.
Regional countries are “engaging India because it is a power in its own right,” noted Prashanth Parameswaran, a fellow at the Wilson Center and founder of the weekly ASEAN Wonk newsletter.
They see India as an “important piece of a broader strategy of shaping a more multipolar order rather than one that is centered around China or dominated by U.S.-China bipolar competition,” he added.
A regional survey published by the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute showed India’s standing has improved greatly among Southeast Asian nations, despite its neutral stance in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“India is the third top option for the region in hedging against the uncertainties of the US-China rivalry. Its ranking more than doubled from the last spot in 2022 to the third spot this year,” said ISEAS’s Lin, one of the authors of the survey.
‘A way out’
Observers say that New Delhi also offers “a way out” for countries that seek to remain neutral in the U.S.-China conflict.“India is not a camp follower of either side,” said Pant from New Delhi’s Observer Research Foundation. “It continues to maintain a very independent streak in its foreign policy, which suits a large number of Southeast Asian countries.”
While China remained the most influential and strategic power in Southeast Asia, its standing has diminished, the Southeast Asia survey from February showed.
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China continues to be regarded as the most influential economic power by 59.9% of the respondents. However, its influence has declined significantly from 76.7% in 2022, as countries grew more wary of Beijing.
For several states that “most distrust China in the region — namely the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore,” India is “an additional partner to help counter Beijing,” noted Rand’s Grossman.
Still, New Delhi’s latest moves to deepen regional ties won’t go unnoticed by Chinese leaders, analysts noted.
China will be “cautious” about the developments, said Lin from ISEAS. “India’s growing influence in Southeast Asia and enhanced defense
cooperation,” among other issues “will cause unease in Beijing,” she added.
Pant noted: “China will be watching this carefully and sending its own messages out.”
But given Southeast Asia “is a central pillar to India’s own Indo-Pacific strategy,” that will not deter New Delhi,” he added. “India’s push into the region will only continue to gather momentum.”
India is a rising force in Southeast Asia as region seeks to counter China's dominance
New Delhi's growing rivalry with China, is also seen as influencing its strategic calculation to strengthen its presence.