International Conference
India & Southeast Asia in a Changing World: Convergences & Divergences
The two-day conference brought together over 450 participants, including students, academicians and scholars from leading think tanks and universities from across India and other countries such as Vietnam, Sweden, U.S. and Japan. On the first day, the keynote addresses were delivered by Niklas Swanstrom (Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Sweden), Professor Amita Batra (Professor of South Asian Studies, JNU), Dr. Jagannath Panda (Head, Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, ISDP, Sweden), Dr. Prabir De (Professor, Research and Information System for Developing Countries), and Ms. Kadambini Sharma (Senior Editor, Foreign Affairs, NDTV).
The keynote sessions were followed by parallel panel discussions, allowing participants to exchange their ideas and observations on various facets of India's foreign and security policies towards the Southeast Asian region. The panel discussions covered a wide range of topics such as trade and connectivity, historical and cultural ties, geopolitical tensions, Indo-Pacific dynamics, security cooperation, and people-to-people ties. Around fifty research papers were presented and discussed during the two-day conference. The keynote speeches were delivered by Dr. Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury (Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata) and Dr. Yoji Natori (Associate Professor, International Liberal Arts Global Studies Program, Akita International University, Japan) on the second day of the conference.
Key takeaways
- The relationship between India and the Southeast Asian countries dates back to centuries and is built upon strong cultural and civilizational ties.
- The convergence of interests among India and Southeast Asian countries, particularly in the security sphere, has increased in recent years, due to evolving power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Despite strides in security cooperation, trade and economic ties faces significant challenges. India’s trade deficit with Southeast Asia and limitations in its economic capabilities constrain deeper engagement in free trade agreements.
- Enhancing connectivity between India and Southeast Asia is pivotal for strengthening their relationship. However, the efforts in this direction have been insufficient or lagging behind due to multiple reasons.
- The Indo-Pacific strategy has assumed greater significance in India’s foreign policy calculus in recent years. ASEAN centrality has been a crucial part of India’s Indo-Pacific strategy. However, the smaller Southeast Asian countries share apprehension concerning the region becoming an arena of great power competition.
- The intense debate and discussions held during the conference helped in critically analysing diverse aspects of India’s relations with Southeast Asia and in suggesting solutions to the existing challenges. This includes the need for stronger political will in implementing connectivity projects between India and Southeast Asia, revising the existing Free Trade Agreements, boosting economic cooperation and collaboration in sustainable development.
The detailed report on the multidimensional aspects of India's realtionship with the Southeast Asian region is available here.