Dr. John Chipman,
Director General, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank
the government of Singapore for the warm hospitability extended to
us and the organisers for making excellent arrangements for the
Dialogue. Though I had the intention of joining the Dialogue on the
previous two occasions, but because of some domestic reasons I could
not do so. I am glad to have the opportunity of participating in the
Fifth Shangri-La Dialogue. On this occasion, our mind goes to the
suffering people of Indonesia of the latest earthquake. When I heard
of the crisis, I was in Tokyo and I sent a message of condolence to
my Indonesian counterpart. India along with the other countries has
extended a hand of cooperation to provide relief and succour to the
hapless victims of the earthquake.
I have been asked by
the organizers of the increasingly popular Shangri-La Dialogue to
speak to you today as a representative of
India
– one of the rising global players. While in general I will talk
about “Growing India and its impact on regional and world matters”.
I am also taking the liberty to briefly review our fast evolving
ties with Northeast Asia, ASEAN and Singapore and end the address
with a few words on maritime security. I felt I should begin with a
brief overview of India’s well-known defence and security policy
goals.
INDIA’S DEFENCE
POLICY GOALS
Protecting
and safeguarding India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty
undoubtedly lies at the core of India’s defence policy. It is
India’s national mission to promote rapid economic and social
development for the vast majority of its people. Our defence and
security policy is dovetailed to this supreme goal to ensure a
peaceful and secure internal and external environment, in which it
can be pursued. India has always been actively promoting and
sustaining durable peace in the immediate neighbourhood, including
the Indian Ocean Region. Premised on the twin policies of no
extra-territorial ambition and no export of ideology, India seeks
the peaceful resolution of all disputes.
As Defence
Minister of India, it is my responsibility to ensure that our
defence forces are adequately equipped to safeguard against any
aggression. This established doctrine has led India over the last
few decades to create defence industrial and technological
capabilities to equip our armed forces, and we strive continuously
to build upon such capacities. That in turn has led India to augment
its industrial and technological resources through collaboration
where necessary, in recent years, both through public-private
partnership and with dependable foreign partners.
India’s
desire for peace and the use of diplomatic means for resolution of
all disputes is unwavering. However, as a large and vibrant
democracy with a diverse social, religious and economic background
of its peoples, the country finds that its peaceful stance has to be
backed by a credible and stable military deterrent with necessary
command and control structures. This includes a nuclear doctrine of
credible minimum deterrence. Ingredients of this doctrine are, ‘no
first use’, non-use against non-nuclear weapons states, and
voluntary moratorium on further tests. This defence preparedness is
not at the cost of developmental expenditure. Hence, India’s defence
expenditure remains modest at less than 2.5% of GDP and in per
capita terms among the lowest.
Given the
global challenges and dangers posed by international terrorism,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related
technologies, piracy on the high seas, trafficking of arms and drugs
and the increasing levels of violence resorted to by non-state
actors, requires us to operate a modern defence intelligence
gathering and sharing system. Global challenges have to be met head
on globally. This belief leads India to actively work with friendly
countries in regional and global security tasks, UN peacekeeping and
peace building, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and arms
control.
INDIA’S ROLE IN
ASIA AND THE WORLD
As the largest and
most populous continent, Asia hosts nearly 60% of the global
population and about 25% of the global GDP; three declared nuclear
weapons states and a couple of others tacitly acknowledged so; two
of the largest standing armies in the world, non-Asian navies
operating freely in Asian waters and a large number of missile
producing and exporting countries. If expanded to the Asia-Pacific
region then this huge Asian entity combines with the large north and
south American economies and the vast military might and influence
of the United States.
Where does India stand
in this impressive array? A lumbering elephant or an emerging giant
– perhaps a bit of both. With its economy growing at over 8% per
annum last year and set to rise further in the coming years, India’s
one billion people are increasingly a driver of regional and global
growth and prosperity. Software, manufacturing, agriculture, nuclear
energy, space, disaster management, maritime affairs, entertainment
and culture are areas in which India’s role is becoming increasingly
vital for the region and the world. While the country will still
need more time of continuing high growth and a sustainable and
balanced development strategy to overcome the problems of poverty,
uneven development, infrastructural and institutional deficiencies,
it is proactively addressing all these issues. India is a unique
case where development, industrialization and democracy have gone
hand in hand.
The distinguished
Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping had told the charismatic Indian Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi almost 20 years ago, that there could be no
Asia-Pacific century or Asian century without India and China
forming crucial elements of such an architecture. India is one of
the important legs of the Asian juggernaut along with China, Japan
and Indonesia. In the Asia-Pacific region, India’s growing ties with
the United States and other countries in North and South America
brings with it a commensurate role in the region.
Asia’s emergence is no
longer a grand hypothesis. Its growth credentials are increasingly
in the realm of reality. Notably, Asia currently contributes about
25% of global GDP, which is expected to rise to 57% by 2025. Asian
countries are among the fastest developing economies in the world.
Intra-Asian trade in 2002 was US $ 3587 billion- about a quarter of
world trade
India’s role is
crucial for ensuring and maintaining long-term peace, stable balance
of power, economic growth and security in Asia. It is a core state
whose role is crucial for the economic well-being, institution
building, collective and cooperative security, economic integration
and trade expansion and political and civilisational dialogue,
essential for a growing Asia. It straddles the land and maritime
spaces between East and West, and provides potential energy and
trade corridors to Central Asia and the Indian Ocean region.
Responding to the challenges of globalization is one of the key
issues faced by all nations today. As a pluralistic, democratic and
English speaking society, India is well placed to respond.
Those of our
neighbours like Sri Lanka and Bhutan, who have chosen to leverage
India’s engine of growth have benefited significantly. Those who
have held back have done so to their detriment. Regional growth has
significant security implications because prosperity and pluralism
are today key pillars for global security. East Asian development
took place in three phases – Japan initially, the Republic of Korea
and Taiwan later and now China. Southeast Asia has also made
remarkable progress. In our quest for an Asian century, can
South Asia
afford to lag far behind? This obviously calls for a regional and
global effort to facilitate the South Asian region to catch up.
India is making every effort in that direction mainly through the
vehicle of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
We call upon our SAARC dialogue partners and others to encourage and
facilitate this process.
India’s ties with
Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, China and Australia is creating a more
stable strategic environment and enhancing independence and
institution building in Asia. Coupled with the simultaneous
improvement in strategic ties with the United States, the European
Union and Russia, this is enabling India for the first time in its
diplomatic history to forge significant strategic ties with both
West and East Asia. India’s rapid economic and social development
and growing confidence in responding to the challenges of
globalization is already leading to the restoration of our
historical connectivity with Southeast Asia as also West Asia.
The emergence of India
as a global player will have a far reaching impact on the
international economy, politics and security. In each of these
areas, India is poised to play an increasingly larger role and the
existing global institutions in their reform process would need to
accommodate India’s capabilities and political-intellectual
contributions.
As a founding
member of the United Nations, India has been firmly committed to the
principles and purposes of the United Nations and has consistently
and significantly contributed to all aspects of its functioning.
India has a long and illustrious history as one of the longest
serving and largest troop contributors to the UN peacekeeping
operations. India has also played a great role in seeking to address
the deficiencies, inequities and problems in the existing global
institutional arrangements. As we observe the 60th
Anniversary of the United Nations, there is unanimity among the
member states that the United Nations is in need of urgent and
comprehensive reform, in order to deal with myriad challenges of
today’s world more effectively. We believe that the reform and
expansion of the United Nations Security Council, in both permanent
and non-permanent categories, is central to the process of UN
reform. The representation of developing countries from Africa, Asia
and other regions, as permanent members of the Security Council is
essential in this context. In this framework, India is pursuing its
candidature for permanent membership of the Security Council.
EAST ASIA SUMMIT,
TIES WITH NORTH-EAST ASIA AND ASEAN
India is
glad that the East Asia Summit (EAS) has been initiated and would in
the coming years lead to cooperation among the members to create an
East Asian Community, which as our Prime Minister has mentioned
could be the harbinger of an eventually enlarged Asian community or
union. As a member of the EAS, India fully supports and looks
forward to constructive cooperation with others in the group to
create the framework for greater regional integration and
cooperation. We believe such a development would have a positive
impact on Asian stability, economic growth and peace.
China is India’s
largest neighbour and therefore developing friendly cooperation with
China is one of the priorities of our foreign policy. With frequent
high-level exchanges including, my just concluded visit to
China,
the process of building trust and understanding has gained momentum
and our relations have diversified across a wide range of areas. Our
ties with China have reached a certain degree of maturity where we
are determined to build upon our existing commonalities and identify
newer areas of mutually beneficial cooperation. At the same time we
are striving to address our differences in a proactive and purposive
manner, without allowing them to affect the comprehensive
development of our relationship.
Our ties with Japan
are also expanding rapidly and not just in the economic and
investment sphere. Japan, of course plays a major role in our
development programmes through the Overseas Development Agency (ODA).
In recent years we have stepped up our defence and security ties,
based on the view that all countries and regions need to cooperate
actively in order to tackle effectively the evolving global
challenges. I have also recently concluded a visit to Japan where I
had the opportunity to discuss in detail all these issues with my
counterpart and some of his senior Cabinet colleagues. Not long ago,
India’s Minister of State for Defence visited the Republic of Korea
and Mongolia where our defence ties are also in the process of being
upgraded.
India’s
trade, security and energy ties with East Asia and the Pacific
region is set to grow rapidly in the coming years. Southeast Asia
and China are already two of our largest trading partners in this
region, and Korea and Japan among the leading investors in our
country. These ties will grow many-fold in the coming years and
would need sustained political, economic and security dialogue
mechanisms for institutionalized support. The EAS, ARF and BIMSTEC
and emerging strategic partnerships are elements of India’s
engagement with East and Southeast Asia, the core of its “Look East
Policy”.
INDIA-SINGAPORE
RELATIONS
As the
host country to the ever-growing Shangri-La Dialogue, it would be
remiss of me not to say a few words about India’s dynamic ties with
Singapore. It is emerging as a hub for India’s expanding economic,
political and security ties with East Asia. Singapore is today an
important investment and trading partner, and also provides the base
for other East Asian countries to invest in India. It is our hope
that the full implementation of the Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed with Singapore in 2005 - the
first of its kind for India - will further generate economic
integration between India and Singapore, and provide the base for
new and wider opportunities for trade, investment, energy and
defence ties with all of ASEAN. New areas of defence cooperation,
including joint training facilities are emerging and supplementing
existing cooperation between India and Singapore in the naval,
maritime and counter-terrorism spheres.
MARITIME SECURITY
While in
Singapore and at a security conference of this stature, the
dimension of maritime security looms large on our radar screens.
Singapore stands at the crossroads of one of the most important
waterways of the world, the Strait of Malacca. More than fifty
percent of India’s maritime trade passes through these waters. Other
Asia-Pacific countries like Japan, China and the ROK are even more
dependant on the safe and secure passage of their sea trade through
the Strait. In recent years, piracy has been a major challenge in
this region and we can only hope that maritime terrorism does not
follow closely behind.
There is a need to
increase and strengthen regional cooperation to enhance maritime
security. India has been working with countries in the region, both
bilaterally and multilaterally through forums such as ARF to further
strengthen cooperation. We believe that through the coordination of
our individual efforts, the security of the sea lanes will be
enhanced. Otherwise, as we have seen in the USS Cole bombing
incident and recent attacks faced by the Sri Lankan Navy vessels, a
small dhow or boat can unobtrusively collide with a larger vessel
causing considerable loss of lives and equipment.
India
welcomes the three-nation initiative on monitoring shipping through
Compulsory Pilotage project of Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore. Subject to the desire of the littoral states, as a major
user-state, India would be willing to assist the project in whatever
capacity is deemed suitable. India has developed capabilities in
various aspects of maritime security and would be most willing to
share its expertise with countries of the region. India is taking
steps to join the Container Security Initiative and has identified
the Nava Sheva port for purposes of executing this initiative. The
Indian Navy has initiated several maritime security and capacity
building measures such as countering piracy by joint exercises
(specifically with Indonesia), returned the Allondra Rainbow ship to
the Japanese authorities from pirates and participated in Tsunami
relief measures in 2004-2005 in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives.
The establishment of a Regional Marine Training Centre has been
discussed at the ARF Workshop and the ARF Senior Officers Meeting.
We believe that such a Centre would go a long way in establishing
common understanding and common procedures. India would be happy to
be associated with this initiative. Consistent with their global
strategic partnership and the new framework for our defence
relationship, India and the United States have committed themselves
to comprehensive cooperation in ensuring a secure maritime domain.
Similar initiatives have been taken with other maritime partners.
Before I
close my address today, I would like to sum up the tangible global
trends at the beginning of the 21st century. Barring a
few exceptions, nation-states today are in what we might term
“political and economic credit” environment in their relations with
each other, i.e., generally a positive and mutually beneficial state
of political and economic affairs. Unfortunately, this healthy and
positive atmosphere is marred by what one might call a worldwide
“security deficit”, whereby no country is free from the tension and
conflict arising from the scourge of international terrorism,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their related
technologies, trafficking of arms, drugs and humans and the growing
tendency among non-state actors to take the law into their own
hands. I would like this gathering of ministers, officials,
researchers and scholars responsible for defence and national
security of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, to ponder
deeply what more can be done, individually by each country and
collectively as a region.
Thank you.
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