Indo ASEAN Relations : News, Updates & Discussions

ASEAN meeting grapples with trade war, territorial disputes
By JIM GOMEZ and ELAINE KURTENBACH | November 2, 2019​


NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — Southeast Asia should use the sway of its shared market of 650 million people and speak with “one voice” to ensure it is treated fairly in an age of protectionism, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Saturday as leaders gathered for a regional summit.

The image of unity the Association of Southeast Asian Nations strives to project has been clouded by wrangling over a long-delayed agreement on a free trade bloc. ASEAN’s 10 members are also divided over the handling of territorial disputes with China.

There were signs of progress, with officials saying they hope to present a preliminary agreement on the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership aimed at creating a 16-member trading bloc including ASEAN and six other major economies, led by China.

Mahathir told business leaders attending ASEAN meetings that they should unite in fighting back if countries try to shut them out of their markets.

The trade war between Beijing and Washington and President Donald Trump’s “America first” stance have many countries sharing a common goal of protecting their access to wealthy Western markets.

“ASEAN is quite a big market for the whole world. We don’t want to go into a trade war,” Mahathir said. He described campaigns against exports of palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia over concerns regarding labor and environmental issues as “sabotage.”

“If they do things that are not nice to us, we have to be not nice to them,” he said. “If you cut back some imports of palm oil from Malaysia, we can cut back our imports from them.”

“We should have one voice,” Mahathir said. “If you go it alone, you will be bullied.”

Trump opted not to attend the ASEAN and other regional meetings outside Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, that began Saturday and run through Monday. Many other regional leaders are attending, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are said to be busy with campaigning on behalf of fellow Republicans.

Mahathir, who is 94 and known for not mincing his words, had some harsh things to say about the U.S. leader and his policies, describing Trump as “not a very nice man.”

Arin Jira, who chaired the meeting as head of ASEAN’s Business Advisory Council, said the gathering should call for “world economic peace” against trade wars that are causing havoc.

“The result of war is only destruction,” he said.

Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters that ASEAN trade ministers and counterparts from wealthier Asian countries expect to report to their leaders on Monday that seven years of negotiations on RCEP are “nearing conclusion.”

Regional leaders asked their trade ministers last year to conclude the negotiations this year. “We cannot go there you know (and say) ‘It’s not yet concluded, we’re far from it.’ We’ll really look silly. That’s the reason why there is this hard, strong effort to reach a conclusion,” Lopez said.

China is among those leading the negotiations along with ASEAN members and their dialogue partners Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.

But some countries such as India have expressed concern that the deal could flood their markets with cheap Chinese goods and undermine local manufacturers.

Asked if India’s worries were a sticking point, Lopez said, “I didn’t say India.”

RCEP will be one of the world’s biggest regional trade blocs if all 16 nations join, covering some 45% of the global population and about a third of GDP, with projected trade of more than $10.3 trillion, or nearly 30% of the world total.

ASEAN also struggles over how to address tensions over China’s encroachment into the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Vietnam wanted ASEAN leaders to issue a communique that would mention Chinese movements into waters where its southern neighbor has exclusive rights to exploit energy resources, and other recent, aggressive acts off the Philippines and Malaysia.

China, through its ASEAN ally Cambodia, has opposed any such move, two Southeast Asian diplomats told The Associated Press.

After weeks of wrangling, senior diplomats reached a compromise on expressing concern over “serious incidents in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region,” one of the diplomats said.

The phrase would not name China or mention other details, the diplomat said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to discuss the issue publicly.

China and its ASEAN allies have steadfastly refused attempts to use the annual summits as an arena to rebuke Beijing for its actions, which include building seven islands on disputed reefs that U.S. officials say could serve as military platforms to intimidate rival claimants.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for global commerce. It opposes naval and aerial patrols by the U.S. and its allies as American interference in an Asian problem. Beijing also regards the U.S. concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific region as a strategy to contain China.

Much of Asia looks to the U.S. to help counter China’s growing reach and power. Trump’s absence is a disappointment to some in the region and may undermine the U.S. assertion that it puts a high priority on trade and other ties with the region.

ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Source: Associated Press
 
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India decided not to join RCEP trade deal: PM Modi
November 04, 2019
Reporting by Neha Dasgupta and Manoj Kumar; Editing by Catherine Evans

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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bangkok, Thailand, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has decided not to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership due to differences over tariffs, its trade deficit with other countries and non-tariff related barriers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quoted as saying on Monday.

“Present form of the RCEP Agreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and agreed guiding principles of RCEP,” Modi was quoted saying by Indian public broadcaster Prasar Bharati News Services in a tweet. “It does not address satisfactorily India’s outstanding issues and concerns.”

“It is not possible for India to join the #RCEP Agreement,” the broadcaster further quoted Modi as saying in the tweet.

The 15 Asia Pacific countries concluded negotiations for the mega regional trade pact on Monday without India, the ASEAN countries said in a statement.

India has been worried that the agreement, which requires the gradual elimination of tariffs, will open up the country’s domestic markets to a flood of cheap Chinese goods and agricultural produce from Australia and New Zealand that will harm local producers.

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Source: Reuters
 
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Singapore Navy liaison joins IFC-IOR

The IFC-IOR was established keeping in mind the significance of the Indian Ocean to world trade and security.

Published: 13th December 2019 11:03 AM
By Mayank Singh
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NEW DELHI: Singapore joined the Indian initiative to strengthen the maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region by agreeing to send its officer to the Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), said an officer aware of the development.

The IFC-IOR was established keeping in mind the significance of the Indian Ocean to world trade and security. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s maritime trade and 50 per cent of global oil pass through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) 75.

However, the region is troubled by maritime terrorism, piracy, human and contraband trafficking, illegal and unregulated fishing, arms running and poaching.

India aims to meet these challenges with enhanced situational awareness which will enable security agencies to function effectively and help disseminate important information to ally countries.
IFC-IOR was inaugurated in December 2018 and is tasked to collate, fuse and disseminate intelligence on ‘White Shipping’ in the Indian Ocean.

It aims to base 40 international liaison officers.India has signed information exchange agreement with 22 countries and one multinational construct — the Virtual Regional Maritime Traffic Centre which facilitates 30 other countries to create a virtual network for exchange of information.

Singapore Navy liaison joins IFC-IOR
 
Government to review free trade pacts with Asean countries
The government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that India would review lopsided trade agreements with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and secure better deals and that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) failed to address India’s concerns on trade deficit, which forced the country to not join the pact.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Goyal cited growing trade deficit with ASEAN countries during 2010-11 until 2018-19 to state that the earlier trade pacts had been asymmetrical.

“A major reason has been that India gave much larger market access to some of these countries but received less in return. For example, in the ASEAN-India FTA (AIFTA) we enabled greater market access by eliminating tariffs on 74.4% lines, however, some of the ASEAN countries eliminated tariffs on only 50.1 % and 69.7 % lines,” the Minister said.The trade deficit has reached upto ₹7 lakh crore and done a lot of damage, he said.

Goyal said that it was the government’s priority to correct the asymmetry in the existing pacts and maximise its export potential to benefit domestic industry and farmers. He said that to achieve this, the government was working with existing FTA partners like South Korea and Japan. “We have also secured an agreement to initiate a review of India-ASEAN Trade and Goods Agreement to make the AIFTA more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative,” he said.

On November 4 in Bangkok, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the call of not joining the RCEP agreement.
Government to review free trade pacts with Asean countries
 
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India asks refiners to stop buying Malaysian palm oil after political row

Wednesday, 08 Jan 2020
6:48 AM MYT
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MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: India has informally asked palm oil refiners and traders to avoid buying Malaysian palm oil, government and industry sources said on Tuesday, following Malaysian criticism of India's actions in the Kashmir region and its new citizenship law.

India is the world's biggest buyer of the oil and palm oil inventories could spike in Malaysia, putting prices under pressure if Indian refiners reduce purchases from the country. Malaysian prices are the global benchmark for palm oil prices.

A senior official in India's vegetable oil industry, who did not wish to be named, said the government had asked refiners at a meeting attended by two dozen vegetable oil industry officials in New Delhi on Monday to boycott Malaysia.

"In Monday's meeting we have been verbally told to avoid buying Malaysian palm oil," the official said.

"We've had various rounds of meetings within the government and industry to see how we could reduce imports from Malaysia," one Indian government official said, adding India has yet to firm up a plan of action and is exploring various options.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has angered India over his comments on India's actions in Kashmir and over a new Indian citizenship law, which critics say chips away at India's secular foundations and could be used by to discriminate against Muslims.

In October, Indian traders stopped signing new contracts with Malaysia for a brief period fearing India will raise import tax onMalaysian palm oil after Mahathir told the U.N. General Assembly that India had "invaded and occupied" Kashmir, a disputed Muslim-majority region also claimed by Pakistan.

Last month, Mahathir, prime minister of a predominantly Muslim nation, also waded into the debate about India's new citizenship law, which has led to violent protests in India and at least 25 deaths in clashes with police.

"People are dying because of this law. So why is there a necessity to do this thing when all this while, for 70 years almost, they have lived together as citizens without any problem?" Mahathir said last month.

The Indian government has made it clear it wants to punish Malaysia for these remarks and traders should support it, said another industry official.

"The government has been struggling to find ways to restrict imports from Malaysia due to World Trade Organization rules. For the time being it asked for industry co-operation," he said.

India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Malaysia's Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok, responsible for the palm oil industry, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event that the government has not received any official statement or notice from India about cutting imports from Malaysia.

"There are some discussions going on but until they officially announce, we don't know whether it's true," said Kalyana Sundram, CEO of Malaysian Palm Oil Council, a state agency responsible for promoting palm oil.

Palm oil accounts for nearly two-thirds of India's total edible oil imports. India buys more than 9 million tonnes of palm oil annually, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Indian refiners and traders have already contracted Malaysian palm oil for shipments in January and small amounts for February, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

"The impact of Monday's meet would be clearly visible from March onward - Indonesia's exports will rise," the dealer said.

Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil, followed by Malaysia. Palm oil is crucial for the Malaysian economy as it accounts for 2.8% of Malaysia's gross domestic product and 4.5% of total exports.

India asks refiners to stop buying Malaysian palm oil after political row
 
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