India offers cooperation on trade, terrorism<\/p>\n
Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Yashwant Sinha attended the
\nJoint Commission between India and Indonesia on Monday. A day
\nlater, he talked with The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba about
\nthe role of India as a new dialog partner of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with China, Japan and South
\nKorea.The following is an excerpt of the interview:<\/p>\n
Question: As a new dialog partner, what can India contribute
\nto ASEAN?<\/p>\n
Answer: We have been very close historically with this part of
\nthe world and we are trying not only to revive the relationship,
\nbut we are trying to give it a 21st-century dimension.<\/p>\n
First, we have very direct interests in security concerns of
\nthis region as they (ASEAN countries) have with respect to South
\nAsia or with India. And terrorism is a threat that many countries
\nin the region face. So we can cooperate here ...<\/p>\n
Second, there is a lot of gun running, people smuggling and
\nnarcotics smuggling in this region. Then there is piracy, so safe
\npassage in the sea lanes is another major issue.<\/p>\n
Then there are issues of defense cooperation. India has built
\nup remarkable capability in training, military technology and in
\nhardware. Many of our ships have visited many ports. All this can
\nbe another area of cooperation. This is as far as the overall
\nsecurity concern.<\/p>\n
How about economic cooperation?<\/p>\n
While we are very happy that East Asia has gotten over the
\nfinancial crisis of 1997-1998, all of us should work together to
\nensure that that kind of crisis does not happen again. India,
\nwhich was not adversely affected by that crisis, has quite a lot
\nof experience in managing the external factors ... Our experience
\nof economic development in ameliorating the condition of the
\npoorer people is again very important.<\/p>\n
Our industrial experience, where small and medium enterprises
\nhave played a very important role in our economy, is again
\nsomething which we can share. Most of all, the technological
\nadvantage that India has made in information technology,
\nbiotechnology, pharmaceutical technology, in space and nuclear
\ntechnology, is again an area that we can share our experience.<\/p>\n
There is an enormous potential for trade in this region, and
\nIndia is a country of over 1 billion people. We have a very
\nstrong middle class, much larger than the entire populations of
\nmany countries in Europe, and with the same kind, if not more
\npurchasing power. So the market here and the market in India are
\nnatural partners in economic development.<\/p>\n
Then there is a tremendous possibility of making investment in
\nIndia, and investment from India into this region. So we are
\nlooking at tremendous possibilities. ASEAN itself has not fully
\nintegrated yet, because there are three stages of development
\nhere. There are countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand
\n(as well as Brunei) which are at a high level of development.<\/p>\n
And we have countries like Indonesia which is not quite on the
\nsame level. And then we have Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
\nSo we are cooperating with ASEAN to do something special for
\nthese countries, the initiative for ASEAN integration.<\/p>\n
We have started negotiating with ASEAN over Free Trade
\nAgreements (FTA). So there is a lot that ASEAN and India can
\ncontribute to each other (involving) a larger area, people-to-
\npeople contact, cultural, educational contacts.<\/p>\n
And there are also historical links. I watched the Ramayana
\ndance at the Prambanan temple. I went to see the Borobudur temple
\n(both in Central Java), I went to Bali. There is so much in
\ncommon, not only with Indonesia but with other parts of Southeast
\nAsia also.<\/p>\n
Both Indonesia and India have been regarded as the leader in
\ntheir respective regional group, ASEAN for Indonesia and India
\nfor South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC), and there are
\ncomplaints regarding their respective role as the "big brother"
\nof their smaller neighbors. Your comment?<\/p>\n
I can't see a reason for these complaints -- if there is such
\na complaint. We are an equal partner in SARC ... Both India and
\nIndonesia have the advantage of a large population.<\/p>\n
But despite the population, size, economic and military
\nstrength, we want to deal with countries in the SARC region on
\nthe basis of sovereign equality. And therefore no country needs
\nto fear India. We are offering the huge Indian market.<\/p>\n
And Indonesia's large population is a very powerful magnet for
\nthe products of the ASEAN region. Therefore nobody in ASEAN needs
\nto fear Indonesia, or feel that Indonesia is a 'big brother'.
\nSimilarly nobody in SARC has such a feeling about India.<\/p>\n
What is India's position at the World Trade Organization (WTO)
\ntalks in Cancun later this month, especially in regard to the
\nagricultural sector? How can India work together with ASEAN on
\nthis issue?<\/p>\n
There are three factors involved here: market access, export
\nsubsidies and domestic support for agriculture. Now what we
\noppose is the fact that the European Union and the United States
\ncame together and produced the draft which laid all the emphasis
\non market access, but did not deal with the issues of export
\nsubsidies and domestic support. We feel -- not only India, but
\nalso Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world -- that
\nagriculture is not merely an economic activity.<\/p>\n
It is a way of life. We have 650 million farmers in India, who
\nare not only dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, but
\nthey provide and have provided for centuries the way of life that
\nwe have now. And this cannot be satisfied by permitting
\nunrestricted and unequal imports, just as they have to protect
\ntheir uncompetitive agriculture which is dependent entirely on
\ndomestic support and export subsidies.<\/p>\n
Small family-based farms here in India, in this region and in
\nthe SARC region, have to be recognized as a central fact. We
\ndon't subsidize our farmers as much as the Western countries do.
\nAnd therefore we do not have a level playing field. And that is
\nwhy India has worked together with other developing countries to
\nput forward an alternative draft to be discussed in Cancun, and
\nhopefully a resolution will be found.<\/p>\n
Many Indonesians may not realize that Indonesia and India are
\nclose geographically, because Nicobar island is so close to
\nNanggroe Aceh Darussalam waters. Are there any sea boundary
\nproblems with Indonesia?<\/p>\n
(Nicobar) is only 50 nautical kilometers between the northern
\ntip of Indonesia and the southern tip of India, between Aceh and
\nsouthern Nicobar islands. So we have a lot of interest for both
\nsides (the two countries are still discussing the determination
\nof their respective Exclusive Economic Zone in the area -- Ed.)<\/p>\n
What are the most important aspects for our bilateral ties?<\/p>\n
The most important task is to cooperate fully as far as the
\ncommon terrorism threat is concerned. We have also taken a number
\nof steps to increase our economic engagement, and to increase
\npeople-to-people contacts.<\/p>\n
India has close ties with Myanmar while ASEAN has strongly
\nurged the military junta there to release Aung San Suu Kyi. What
\nis your government's stance on this issue?<\/p>\n
We have said that the process of national reconciliation must
\ngo on. We are the world's greatest and largest democracy and
\ntherefore we would like democratic forces to take Myanmar towards
\ndemocracy and that Aung San Suu Kyi should be released, so that
\nthis new situation (the political stalemate) with other regional
\ngroup members could be resolved.<\/p>",
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