RI-India ties must move beyond cultural links

V. Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Relations between the world's fourth most populous country -- Indonesia -- and the world's second most populous state -- India -- have remained cordial throughout 2001.

These ties, which are moving at a faster pace in cultural and educational fields than on the economic, political and security fronts, still have a long way to go to form a strategic partnership.

Indonesia and India are the leading regional powers in their respective regions and have maintained close relations with each other since independence.

In recent times, Indonesia, which used to pursue an active foreign policy, has turned into a passive participant in regional affairs due to the 1997 economic crisis, political instability. Meanwhile India, an alien in Southeast Asian affairs excluding Indochina until the demise of the Cold War, adopted a "Look East" policy in 1991 in order to instill a meaningful relationship with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Indonesia, and became a full dialog partner of ASEAN in 1995.

It is in this historical context that the present relations between the two Asian giants must be seen.

Indonesia's bilateral relations with India marked a new beginning this year when Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited Indonesia in January and gave a new twist to the centuries-old ties.

Vajpayee and then president Abdurrahman Wahid, who visited India in February 2000, signed various bilateral agreements including the establishment of a joint commission to be headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries as well as a cooperation agreement in defense activities.

In the context of longstanding relations and the bright prospects between the two countries, Abdurrahman said, "As neighbors, we have many things in common, especially in politics. Therefore, we have to share our experiences to be able to face future challenges".

While supplementing the remarks of Abdurrahman, Vajpayee said that Indonesia and India need to further explore their potential.

Another new chapter began in the history of bilateral relations between Indonesia and India this year with the election of Megawati Soekarnoputri, a true friend of India like her father Sukarno, as the fifth and first female president of the world's most populous Muslim country in late July.

Thanks to the 2001 Cultural Exchange Program agreement, the strenuous efforts of diplomats in Jakarta and New Delhi, the cultural ties between the two nations have shown immense activity throughout the year.

Indonesia has never felt any direct security threat from its giant South Asian neighbor even in the context of the latter's nuclear testing in 1998 or the recent establishment of a first- ever military strategic command in October on the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Both countries went a step further in 2001 by signing a new defense cooperation agreement. Indonesia, which has been facing arms restrictions over the past few years due to a U.S. arms embargo, has agreed to purchase arms from India.

From the geo-strategic point of view, the security relationship between the countries, if further strengthened, could become a counterweight to China, a potential hegemonic regional and global power, which could disrupt the balance of power in Southeast and South Asia as well as the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Maintaining neighborly ties, with a focus on cultural links -- however strong and close they may be -- may not be enough to form a strategic partnership. Trade is the main pillar of that relationship.

It is precisely in this area that both countries are flawed and have apparently become masters in the art of doing nothing.

The total trade between Indonesia and India accounts for only 1 percent of the total foreign trade of either country. For example, the total trade value between the two nations in 2000 was just $1.4 billion. This year it may grow slightly more than in 2000 as the trade value recorded until June 2001 was $693.11 million.

Bilateral trade in recent years has been in favor of Indonesia, though Jakarta remains unable to penetrate the vast Indian market of over 1 billion people and lags behind its tiny neighbors Singapore and Malaysia, who have a far better trade record with India, in every move.

Indonesia is the world's second largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO), amounting to 7.2 million tons in 2001, after Malaysia as well as a leading oil and gas exporter.

Surprisingly, India is the world's largest importer of CPO and spends over $6 billion annually on importing oil and gas. It buys more CPO from Malaysia than Indonesia and oil and gas from the Middle East and Central Asia.

With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$1.71 trillion, India, a superpower in information technology (IT), now boasts a thriving 200 million to 250 million-strong middle class, one of the largest pockets of prosperity anywhere in the world.

Not withstanding the slow development of events, the conditions demand that economic relations between these two old friends should expand for their mutual interest.

As Megawati's visit to India in early 2002 is on the cards, bureaucrats and business leaders in Jakarta and New Delhi should seize the opportunity and try every trick in the book to push forward current bilateral relations beyond cultural ties.