Socio-Strategic Review: regional cooperation

We are happy to announce to announce that the 1st Issue of Electronic Journal of Social and Strategic Studies (EJSSS) with 06 papers on IR, Strategic Studies, History and Edn & Trg, one research opinion on Security Studies and 02 Book Reviews on IR is online. EJSSS is an OA Journal committed to promote interdisciplinary research in Social Sciences/Strategic Studies. We are a member journal of CROSSREF.

Visit us at www.ejsss.net.in

EJSSS specifically hopes to encourage young and emerging scholars to undertake interdisciplinary research and publication. We firmly believe that a knowledge driven society is the only hope for a promising and sustainable future that all of us aspire for.

The contents of our First Issue are as below:

CONTENTS

Articles

1. Security-Development Nexus - China’s Policy Framework towards Africa by

Dr Bertha Z. Osei-Hwedie and Napoleon Kurantin

2. Reminiscing an African Connect: The Impregnable Janjira

Dr CS Anuradha

3. Bangladesh Playing Chinese checkers with India

Group Captain AV Chandrasekaran (Retd)

4. Covid-19 Lockdown: An Opportunity to Explore New Frontiers for

Online-Training

Dr DK Pandey

5. India-ASEAN Cooperation in the Evolving Regional Mechanisms

Dr M Prayaga

6. Implications of Multitudinous Multilateral Institutions for Southeast Asia

Prof. Y. Yagama Reddy

Perspective/Commentary

7. Paradigm shift in Coastal Security in India

Commodore RS Vasan IN (Retd)

Book Reviews

8. Rise of the Indo-Pacific: Perspectives, Dimensions and Challenges

by Prof. Chintamani Mahapatra (Ed.)

Farhat Jahan

9. International Relations Today: Concepts and Applications

by Prof. Aneek Chatterjee

Masom Jan Masomy

In June 1997, six countries across South and Southeast Asia came together to form a new cooperative framework based on their mutual interests. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) aimed at cooperation between India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. BIMSTEC aims to address 14 areas in which cooperation among these countries could help them address common concerns:

Trade & Investment
Transport & Communication
Energy
Tourism
Technology
Fisheries
Agriculture
Public Health
Poverty Alleviation
Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crime
Environment & Disaster Management
People-to-People Contact
Cultural Cooperation
Climate Change

After having witnessed South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) flounder in its course, primarily due to the demonstrated positions of India and Pakistan on terrorism, BIMSTEC brought in a new chapter in inter and extra regional cooperation in South Asia. Extending its reach to Myanmar and Thailand who are members of ASEAN, it also laid the path to out-of-the-region cooperation into the East. Academic scholarship has attributed this outreach as part of India's Look & Act East Policies that have been making (however haltingly!) to expand India's sphere of influence in the underbelly of Chinese dragon. In the second tenure of NDA government which commenced after the decisive mandate given to BJP in the recent Indian elections, BIMSTEC appears poised for emerging into a major intra-regional alliance. Shri Narendra Modi's government extended an invite to BIMSTEC leaders to attend his swearing-in ceremony on 30 may 2019. The high profile attendance minus Pakistan in the ceremony yet again demonstrated India's commitment to expand BIMSTEC framework while sending a clear message that countries supporting terrorism are no more considered an albatross around India's neck. This renewed message merits a re-look at the positives and negatives of BIMSTEC.

The positives

BIMSTEC connects the robust Indian economy and emerging Bangladesh economy to the vibrant markets of ASEAN. Although only two of ASEAN's members are in BIMSTEC (Myanmar joined a month after it joined BIMSTEC, in July 1997), India's existing framework relations with Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia gets a boost as part of this new framework. The land locked Bhutan and Nepal, which otherwise suffering the unspoken-yet-real impact of Indo-Pak relations on SAARC platform now have a prospective domain to work on their cooperative agendas.

Each of the areas of cooperation that BIMSTEC has taken up have huge domestic implications for the member states. For example, the 1400 km long India-Myanmar-Thailand highway which India's Transport minister Shri Gadkari said will be complete by December 2019[1], will speed up developmental activities all along the route providing fillip to local livelihoods[2].

Each member state, barring Bhutan and Nepal, have substantial populations dependent on the sea. While over-fishing and trawling are threatening to endanger fishing in many parts of the world, a framework cooperation between BIMSTEC members could further sustainable use of the sea for improving livelihoods of fishing communities. Towards this purpose, BIMSTEC must step forward to create institutional frameworks for realizing its agenda set in its Fourth Summit at Kathmandu[3], which stated: “Stress on continued cooperation in conservation, management and sustainable use of marine resources in the region; agree to deepen cooperation in fisheries to ensure food security and improve livelihoods of people in our region and task the relevant national agencies to explore the possibility of meaningful collaboration to promote sustainable marine fisheries and direct the relevant authorities to explore how the landlocked Member States can benefit from inland fisheries”.

Myanmar has attracted considerable interest from China apparently for the as-yet-unexploited energy sources. A framework cooperation among BIMSTEC members with substantial financial assistance could ensure that the growing energy need among the member states take priority, thus providing much needed energy supplies in the future. Being vested with unlimited natural sources like sunlight, sea and wind, developing mutually beneficial agenda for tech-financial cooperation for exploitation of these sources could change livelihoods to even remotely located populations in these countries.

These are but few of the positives of BIMSTEC. On the other hand, there are some limiting factors that need to be worked together to strengthen BIMSTEC.

The Negatives

India-Bangladesh and India-Sri Lanka have a number of issues concerning sharing of river waters and the Gulf of Mannar for fishing. Unless these issues are visited by high power committees with a time bound plan for resolving them, the possibility of BIMSTEC being diluted remains.

Unlike India that has demonstrated the strength and vibrancy of its democracy (strong institutional framework), some members of BIMSTEC are not so stable. India must take the lead to extend its support for strengthening democracies in member countries. This would have two-fold benefits. India’s own institutional framework would get strengthened and the democratic stability in the neighborhood would strengthen cooperation.

Notwithstanding the merits of mega-development plans like road networks, port development, construction of hydro projects, etc, it is important to remember that large populations depend on the tracts of forests and hills that need to be acquired for developmental work in these countries. Sustainable development should therefore be the key mantra. Apart from philosophical niceties concerning poor segments of populations, no development can achieve its purpose unless it is inclusive.

There is also a need to revisit the traditional concepts of sovereignty that countries in South Asia have. The sense of self-interest with which countries tend to visit agendas for cooperation should be tempered with pragmatic considerations.

Conclusion

BIMSTEC is a unique alliance focused on sectors that have huge potential for cooperation among member countries. Unlike SAARC which has nobler ideals (promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region through strict adherence to the principles of the UN Charter and Non-Alignment, respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and peaceful settlement of all disputes, for example), BIMSTEC has an earthy flavor. Being concerned with areas that could help the members address issues common across their territories, it has the potential to become an alliance that could actually touch millions of lives. The techno-economic agenda needs to be driven by political leaders in these countries drawing upon the advice from experts in concerned fields, entirely in a sustainable mould. That way, BIMSTEC could help ordinary citizens in these countries to realize their dreams for sustainable livelihoods.

[1] https://www.livemint.com/Politics/hdV9E00I5CwSrKmSheAu6M/IndiaMyanmarThailand-Trilateral-Highway-by-2019-Nitin-Gad.html

[2] For a case study from Bulgaria, see: http://projects-beta.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/05/02/improving-roads-improving-lives

[3] http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=183185