The growing trade war between the US and China is believed to be one of the main reasons behind the adoption of new policies by Asian countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
 |
| Photo (https://unsplash.com/photos/k0Jo8m6DO6k) |
A meeting of senior officials of the ten member countries of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was recently held in Bangkok, Thailand (June 20-23, 2019). At that time, for the first time, the policy of Asian countries for the Indo-Pacific region was decided. Nearly the last year has seen a series of discussions and negotiations to decide this policy.
After US President Donald Trump announced during his 2017 tour of Asian countries, as well as at the APEC Summit in Vietnam in 2017, an open and free policy for the Indo-Pacific region, the idea that Asian countries should have their own policy for the region was first mooted. Countries like Australia-France, India and Japan have also announced their own individual policies to co-operate in the Indo-Pacific region. These developments have made southeastern countries, such as Indonesia and Thailand, feel that they should not be sidelined or sidelined in this newly evolving geopolitical equation.
Indonesia took the lead in drafting the Asian countries for the Indo-Pacific region. Indonesia had proposed that Asian countries clarify their views on the Indo-Pacific region at a meeting of Asian foreign ministers in 2018. Only then did the discussion begin in earnest. There are many reasons for Indonesia to take such an initiative. One of the main reasons for this is that the current Indonesian government has openly expressed its intention to give Indonesia a dignified political prominence in the Indo-Pacific region by elevating its position at the grassroots level.
A researcher like Ivan Laxman from the Jakarta Center for Strategic and International Studies says that Indonesia does not like the policies put forward by the political powers in the Indo-Pacific region so far. That's why I think Indonesia should have a new policy with Asian member states at the center. This is another important reason behind this. Whether it is the US open policy for the Indo-Pacific region or the China Belt and Road Initiative, Indonesia does not want to surrender or come under their influence. Indonesia's position and image at the organizational level in the region is of prestige.
In this sense, his proposal for a separate policy for Asian countries will, in a sense, help raise Indonesia's image in the international arena, as well as in countries like India, the US, Australia and Japan, which are interested in the Indo-Pacific region. Importantly, these countries have played and will continue to play an important role in the development process of the islands in the Indian Ocean region. Due to this initiative by Indonesia, Indonesia seems to have an interest in the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific region and it is important for them. In fact, it may allay the fears of the international community that this has undermined the importance of Asian countries in the country's foreign policy.
The strategically important place in the East Asian region is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region. Taking advantage of it seems to be the idea of other member countries. In view of the growing trade war between the US and China, Singapore has demanded that more meetings and discussions be held before the Asian countries' policy on the Indo-Pacific is approved. It should be noted here that the trade war between China and the United States is having a negative impact on the economic development of many countries in the East Asian region. The important thing is that many countries in the region are being forced to side with either of these two countries.
Given that the trade war between the US and China shows no signs of abating, and the potential for a negative impact on the country's security and stability in the region, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the policy is in line with the global development process. (Djokovic), in a statement on the proposed policy.
Instead of this policy document, the draft underlines the concept of an institutional structure for the Indo-Pacific region and the policy for the Indo-Pacific region. The document states that the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions are important for diversity and economic development. Importantly, in the face of growing tensions between the United States and China, the document focuses on Asian countries for the Indo-Pacific region, given the changing political equations at the geographical level.
In a sense, it seems that Asian countries need to play a key role in the process of structural change required for development in East Asia and the surrounding region in the near future. This does not mean, however, that the entire existing system is to be replaced, or that a new system is to be developed. On the contrary, it aims to accelerate the process of integrated integration of the Asian community, as well as to enhance cooperation for the development of the Indo-Pacific region, as a platform for interaction and implementation. In addition to this document, international law, openness and freedom, transparency,
Cooperation in the field of maritime cooperation, cooperation in the field of transportation, cooperation in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and cooperation for economic development are also categorized to help other countries come forward to assist in the development process of the Indo-Pacific region.
The escalating trade war between the US and China is believed to be the main reason behind the adoption of new policies by Asian countries on the Indo-Pacific region. However, according to Ibrahim Almutakki, a researcher at the Habibie Center in Jakarta, the draft document does not mention the US-China trade war, but rather the strategic challenges facing the region, which has led Asian countries to adopt the policy. Instead of this document, the draft does not even mention the solutions on how to face these challenges. However, instead of this document, some important or guiding principles have been underlined in the draft.
The draft states that the implementation of this policy should be done in accordance with the rules laid down in the draft, and that the aim should be to achieve the goal of dialogue and mutual cooperation instead of animosity towards each other. However, at the same time, it does not explicitly mention the potential threats and challenges in the draft documents of other countries such as the US, Australia and Japan, but not in the draft documents of Asian countries. On the contrary, in the draft, Asian countries have adopted a path that seems somewhat safer from the point of view of political diplomacy.
As far as India is concerned, in 2018, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue Conference, it is a matter of some optimism in terms of further enhancing relations between India and Asian countries. Because from that keynote address, India has also played a somewhat milder role on the world stage in the case of China, and has also played a role from the point of view of political diplomacy in describing the threat posed by China. Some of the same is reflected in the draft instead of this document. Of course, at the meeting in Bangkok, the US-China trade dispute and the immediate conclusion of the Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP),
Now, it will be important to see how China reacts to the Asian countries' policy on the Indo-Pacific region, especially after it is referred to as the Indo-Pacific region. In fact, the Asian member states have now accepted the region as Indo-Pacific, and find it convenient to use. Only time will tell whether China is hurt or disturbed by such an indo-Pacific mention of the region as it exchanges or discusses guidelines on the South China Sea issue. Against this background, the draft does not mention "China's threat" instead of the Asian countries' document, so it should not be a problem to assume that China will not be hurt much.
Of course, given the repeated failures to ratify this policy agreement, it is clear that there is disagreement among Asian member states over this policy. Therefore, given the differences and misunderstandings among the Asian member states on the Indo-Pacific region, the South China Sea issue and its relations with China, it is commendable that the Asian member states issued a statement on the Indo-Pacific region after 18 months of discussions and negotiations. This draft document should be seen as the first step taken by the Asian countries in realizing the concept of Indo-Pacific region. It is expected that further discussions on the Indo-Pacific region will be held in the near future at the meetings of the Asian Member States and the East Asian Summit.
The draft document also clarifies some areas in which other like-minded countries can participate in terms of cooperation. India also needs a free, open, inclusive, regulated Indo-Pacific region. That is why India has also welcomed the policy of Asian countries towards the Indo-Pacific region. In fact, for the development of the Indo-Pacific region, India has the potential to cooperate in many areas. The draft policy document also mentions the proper / framed use of capabilities in collaboration with a number of sub-regional organizations such as IORA, BIMSTEC, BIMP-EAGA and Mekong. At the same time, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has given great importance to the Bay of Bengal (BOB) and Beamstakes.
Against this backdrop, India has the opportunity to invite countries along the West Bengal Bay, such as Indonesia and Singapore, to join the BIMSTEC. If this happens, these countries and India will be able to work together for the development, expansion and expansion of the Bay of Bengal region as well as for the security of the region. For example, India could use the Sabang port at Sumatra, which is connected to Indonesia. Apart from this, India and Asian member countries can also enhance cooperation in the maritime sector. Large investments and efforts are required for the infrastructure and institutional facilities that connect these regions, as well as for person-to-person contacts, in order to enhance the integration and interaction with the countries of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
All in all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sagarmala project, the three-lane road project extending to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV), the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) planned by Prime Minister Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. And it is important to note that the Initiative for the Mutual Connectivity of Asian Countries (MPAC) 2025 can be helpful and beneficial.
Post a Comment