Executive Summary
India’s maritime security is of high priority in the current juncture, where the world is witnessing a new cold war developing among the United States and China. We observe this competition getting increasingly tense in the Indo-Pacific region. Within this situation, it is of high importance that India strengthen its Maritime doctrine to be more proactive to deal with any disruption that may entail, considering the presence of the chokepoint of the Malacca Strait. India must maintain its strong relations with ASEAN to ensure peace and tranquility in the region.
The Problem
India and ASEAN are working together on the water. They have some big problems to solve. The main issue is that India has good systems to monitor and watch the sea but most of the ASEAN countries do not have such advanced technology. This means that they do not share information well and they have a hard time keeping the sea lines safe. This creates more problems for the security of the Indo-Pacific ocean.
The difference in what India and ASEAN can do on the water is a challenge for them to work together on defense.All of these problems come from one thing: India has much better technology and systems to watch the sea than most of the ASEAN countries.In fact while India has technology for surveillance and monitoring most of the ASEAN countries do not have good enough systems to share information and keep the sea lines safe
India and ASEAN also do not work together well on defense. Even when they do naval exercises, they do not plan very far ahead and they do not work together smoothly. This means that these exercises do not really help improve cooperation or safety.
Another problem is that India and ASEAN do not have enough roads and other connections between them. Projects like the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project are delayed due to bureaucratic problems and funding issues.
To sum it up, India and ASEAN have problems to fix for good teamwork on sea matters.They must find ways to share information easily.They need to work without issues and build more links between their countries.If they do this they can achieve their goals. Make the sea safer, for all.India and ASEAN must focus on creating a relationship and solving these issues for better sea cooperation.India and ASEAN countries should work on these problems to make their sea partnership effective.
Why It Matters
KM Panikkar, the first ambassador to China, had already laid out a vision for India to prioritize its maritime geography to craft a suitable security architecture, considering the experience of colonialism arising from the Naval domination of the East India Company. This idea is of renewed interest to recent times for strategists due to anxiety over China's Naval expansion in the South China Sea. This is an area where the interests of India and the ASEAN nations align, as their economies depend on close cooperation and the existence of freedom of navigation through the Indo-Pacific.
2027 will mark the 35th year since the establishment of ties with ASEAN, with the cooperation being elevated to a strategic partnership in 2022. With the establishment of the “Act East” policy since 2014, India’s cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation has certainly increased, with ASEAN increasingly viewing India as a like-minded nation and a trusted partner. Apart from technological cooperation, collaboration to address climate change and humanitarian assistance through initiatives such as the MAHASAGAR, there is a lack of security and defense cooperation between ASEAN and India. Although there are certain levels of cooperation in the field of non-traditional threats, such as piracy and terrorism. For this purpose, the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting plus (ADMM+) meets annually to establish Expert Working Groups (EWGs) that conduct joint exercises to ensure readiness. However, there needs to be a dialogue for further military cooperation, somewhat similar to the QUAD alliance, to counter China's presence.
Analysis
When we look at the problems with India and ASEAN working together on issues it becomes clear that there are many challenges.The Indo-Pacific area is getting more and more competitive with China's growing presence at sea.China's actions, like the Belt and Road Initiative and its behavior in the South China Sea are making it urgent for India and ASEAN to work together closely at sea.There are still many gaps that make it hard for them to do so effectively.India has made progress in being aware of what's happening at sea by setting up the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region. This centre helps share information with countries in the area.Some ASEAN countries are not always involved, mainly because they have different levels of technical ability, different priorities and worries about who controls their data.So we don't always have a picture of what's happening at sea in the area.India and ASEAN also don't work well together on defense.They do some exercises, like SIMBEX and patrols together. These are usually just between two countries, not many. They don't really lead to a plan for the seas.
Policy Recommendations
ASEAN, over the decades, has emerged as a powerful bloc of nations pursuing peaceful development and cooperation. India, despite being a dialogue partner to ASEAN, has not been able to foster engagement in the way other partners, such as Japan and China, have done. India must leverage the strategic relations it has to maintain its interests and counter China’s involvement in the Indian Ocean Region. It can be done by coordinating a clear strategic policy focused on achieving the goal efficiently.
- Improve intelligence sharing starting with non-sensitive areas like climate and humanitarian data.India and ASEAN could integrate intel sharing among themselves, create trust by first sharing sensitive data for non-controversial purposes such as climate and humanitarian aid. The increase of trust would allow for testing the readiness of ASEAN to provide India with military intelligence crucial to dealing with China.
- Enhance military cooperation with ASEAN nations, which share the same strategic anxiety about China’s maritime activities in the South China Sea. Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. These nations could provide cooperation that jointly ensures the freedom of navigation.
- Addressing the infrastructure gaps could accelerate the economic cooperation with the south east asian nations. Integrating the north-east states with the ASEAN neighbour, Myanmar, could increase connectivity to the region. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Transit project is not fully functional, facing delays due to the civil war in Myanmar.
Conclusion
India and ASEAN working together on the water presents a lot of opportunities for strategy and economics. Some big problems are getting in the way. The main issues are that India and ASEAN do not have the level of awareness about what is happening in the water, they do not work together well on defense and important projects are being delayed. In the Indo-Pacific area, which is changing fast, these problems are not just stopping good management of the water, they are also making the region less stable and trustworthy. To fix these problems India and ASEAN need to keep working, make stronger institutions and actually do what they say they will do. India and ASEAN need to work better and get projects done on time to make their partnership on the water strong and meaningful. This will help India and ASEAN deal with the challenges that are coming up in the region. India and ASEAN maritime integration is very important. India and ASEAN need to take it seriously.
References
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