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| Narendra Modi (Image: Flickr User narendramodiofficial) |
By Neelam Deo
Upcoming multilateral summits give India an opportunity to enhance regional position and economic links.
The India-Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the East Asia Summit (EAS), both in Nay Pyi Daw, Myanmar, on November 11 and 12, are among the major geopolitically significant gatherings of world leaders this month. These interactions will demonstrate if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proactive engagements over the past six months, at the bilateral level and with BRICS leaders, have effectively improved global perceptions of India.
After Nay Pyi Daw, Modi will head to the G20 meeting in Brisbane, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu. Modi will not attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing, although India has applied for membership of the grouping. China has been the main obstacle to India’s membership, but the first-ever invitation to India to attend the summit—by Chinese president Xi Jinping in July—could signal a reduction in Beijing’s obstruction.
All these meetings will focus on Asia’s growing contribution to global growth, particularly trade agreements like the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). India has expressed support for the RCEP—which includes China but excludes the U.S.—but not yet for the U.S.-led TPP, which is designed to exclude China. The rest of the overlapping membership of the two trade agreements largely comprises ASEAN members and South Pacific countries, most of which are also part of APEC—itself an incipient trading bloc.
Although political differences and impasses are not usually officially addressed at such summits—where the focus is economic—a majority of the discussions on the sidelines of the formal meetings are likely to center on the spread of jihadist terror and the endeavors of all countries to adjust to the rise of China.
Read the full story at The Diplomat