7 - Conclusion

Summary

Much water has flowed through the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait since India and Southeast Asia began their “rediscovery” a decade and half ago. How much have they discovered during this period? Today, their wavelengths are not too different. They are fairly similar, just as they were when both set out on their respective journeys soon after independence. Fifty years ago at the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Nehru, Soekarno and other Southeast Asian leaders spoke of the “spirit of Asia”, an Asia which will be free of colonialism and foreign domination. They agreed to abide by the principles of peaceful co-existence and decided to follow a non-aligned approach which would keep their countries away from the Cold War rivalry. The resolve of the Afro-Asian leaders was criticized by the Western world as moralistic preaching and their approach as unreal.

On revisiting Bandung on its fiftieth anniversary in 2005, we find that the world around us has changed a great deal. The Cold War is over and there are no opposing blocs. Behind the scene of preponderance of one superpower there is a clearly discernible multipolar world. Multipolarity recognizes plurality and also denotes sharing of responsibility. Nowhere is it strikingly visible as in the diverse region of the Asia-Pacific with such poles as China, Japan, ASEAN, India and Korea coming to the fore, each one trying to assert its independence of policy and action, each one articulating its view of the present and vision of the future. The priority for socioeconomic development of their vast population (which comprises half the world) is the common agenda. Interestingly, it is this kind of independence, search for identity and desire for peaceful co-existence that the leaders at Bandung had sought and aspired for. In that sense, we seem to have come a full circle. For India and Southeast Asia, it is a vindication of their long-held belief and conviction. Herein lies the fundamental convergence between India and Southeast Asia, which should constitute the bedrock of relationship in the future.