CALCUTTA, 22 November 2004 — India is ready for a political romp in a region that China has passionately courted and pampered for a long time.
Today Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will wave the starter’s flag sending off the first Indian-led car rally across most of the countries of ASEAN.
Leaving from Guwahati, in northeastern India, the parade will wind through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia, to reach Singapore on Dec. 11. The only member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations it will miss are Brunei and the Philippines.
Although the 20-day affair will cost the Indian government $8 million, nobody in New Delhi is complaining, because the rally is a calculated diplomatic exercise in regional rival China’s backyard.
“It is a case of realpolitik,” said Indian defense analyst Ashok Mehta. “China has made deep inroads into the entire ASEAN region, militarily and economically. India has lost a lot of time not recognizing (this) reality.”
Today China calls the shots across the region. It has a finger in virtually every pie, a foot in every door and friends in every nook and cranny — an all-pervasive presence that has taken years to spread.
New Delhi is belatedly trying to drive its way to closer ties with ASEAN which Beijing considers within its zone of influence. One commentator aptly described the whole exercise as “networking on wheels”.
Analysts in India say Manmohan’s government is determined to make its presence felt in a region dangerously close to its border, where China’s shadow is lengthening every day. The rally, in which 30-odd teams will take part, is being jointly organized by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The objective of the 8,000km drive is to boost Indian-ASEAN relations, highlight their geographical proximity and road connections, and boost trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts, said C.M. Bhandari, additional secretary in the External Affairs Ministry.
“People in the ASEAN region somehow always think India is very far (away). The rally will show that we are close and can travel overland to see each other,” said senior diplomat Rajiv Kumar.
