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The BIMSTEC story
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The story: In 2021, the foreign ministers of BIMSTEC (the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) met in a virtual conference. This is the first ministerial since the globe has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. For India's regional aspirations, this forum is important, though it is yet to gain enough traction.
- What it is: The BIMSTEC as a regional organization has achieved a lot in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and security, including counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and coastal security cooperation. But there still are many obstacles that limit the regional body in realizing its full potential.
- Highlights of the 2021 meeting: The foreign ministers cleared the draft for the BIMSTEC charter, recommending its early adoption, and endorsed the rationalization of sectors and sub-sectors of activity, with each member-state serving as a lead for the assigned areas of special interest. The ministers also conveyed their support for the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, which will be adopted at the next summit in Sri Lanka. Preparations have been completed for the signing of three agreements relating to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, cooperation between diplomatic academies, and the establishment of a technology transfer facility.
- Evolution of BIMSTEC: It was first established as a grouping of four nations — India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka — through the Bangkok Declaration of 1997, and expanded later to include three more countries — Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan.
- Initially, BIMSTEC didn’t hold much geopolitical weight. This can be reflected by only just three summits in the first 20 years of its formation.
- But BIMSTEC suddenly received special attention as India chose to treat it as a more practical instrument for regional cooperation, as SAARC continues to remain defunct.
- BIMSTEC Leaders’ Retreat, followed by their Outreach Summit with the BRICS leaders in Goa in October 2016, drew considerable international limelight to the low-profile regional grouping. At the second swearing-in of Modi in May 2019, the leaders of BIMSTEC, not SAARC, were invited as honored guests.
- The Gujral Doctrine - India would have to counter the impression that BIMSTEC is an India-dominated bloc, in that context India can follow the Gujral doctrine that intends to chalk out the effect of transactional motive in bilateral relations.
- Challenges: The BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement is an unfinished agenda, as it was signed in 2004, but over 20 rounds of negotiations it is still to be operationalized. A strong BIMSTEC presupposes cordial and tension-free bilateral relations among all its member-states. This has not been the case, given the trajectory of India-Nepal, India-Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh-Myanmar ties in recent years. But both Nepal and Sri Lanka want the SAARC summit revived. However, India maintains that terror and talks can’t go hand in hand.
- China: China’s decisive intrusion in the South-Southeast Asian space is causing a limiting effect on India’s zone of influence. A Bangladeshi scholar argued at a recent conference that BIMSTEC would make progress if China is accepted as its principal interlocutor and partner. The military coup in Myanmar, brutal crackdown of protesters, and continuation of popular resistance resulting in a protracted impasse have produced a new set of border management challenges for India.
- The road ahead: A BIMSTEC FTA must be pushed hard. It should cover trade in goods, services, and investment; promote regulatory harmonization; adopt policies that develop regional value chains, and eliminate non-tariff barriers. India has led through constant focus and follow-up — to the extent that some member-states have complained about the ‘over securitization of BIMSTEC. Hence, there is a need to ensure maintaining security and forging solid arrangements for economic cooperation. As BIMSTEC readies itself to celebrate the silver jubilee of its formation next year, it faces a serious challenge: to effect “a paradigm shift in raising the level of our cooperation and regional integration.”
- Knowledge centre:
- APEC - APEC is the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum, with the primary goal to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. The idea of APEC was firstly publicly broached by former Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke during a speech in Seoul, Korea, on 31 January 1989. The founding members were Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and the United States. Later, China; Hong Kong, China; and Chinese Taipei joined in 1991. Mexico and Papua New Guinea followed in 1993. Chile acceded in 1994. And in 1998, Peru; Russia; and Viet Nam joined, taking the full membership to 21. Between 1989 and 1992, APEC met as an informal senior official- and ministerial-level dialogue. In 1993, former US President Bill Clinton established the practice of an annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to provide greater strategic vision and direction for cooperation in the region.
- RCEP - In order to broaden and deepen the engagement among East Asian countries, and to enhance parties’ participation in economic development of the region, the leaders of 16 participating countries (minus 1) established the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), on 15th Nov. 2020. The RCEP was built upon the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs with the spirit to strengthen economic linkages and to enhance trade and investment related activities as well as to contribute to minimising development gap among the parties. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has free trade agreements with six partners namely People’s Republic of China (ACFTA), Republic of Korea (AKFTA), Japan (AJCEP), India (AIFTA) as well as Australia and New Zealand (AANZFTA). All fifteen (except India) are a part of RCEP now. The 15 member countries account for about 30% of the world's population (2.2 billion people) and 30% of global GDP ($26.2 trillion) as of 2020, making it the biggest trade bloc in history.
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