India - The emerging Asian super power | Fusion - WeRIndia

Ng Eng Hen, the defence minister of Singapore has stated last month that Singapore desires India to play a bigger role in the South China Sea. Even the leaders of Vietnam and Philippines have given similar statements in the recent years. One can say that the invitations from other countries to India to participate in the region’s security affairs suggest that India will be emerging as a great power in Southeast Asia and by extension, Asia itself.

India and the Pacific Oceans are connected through Southeast Asia and it includes important maritime chokepoints. This site is likely to be the site of order making in Asia when it comes to the context of rise of China.

There are two primary reasons why India could rise in Southeast Asia. Firstly, there are no territorial disputes between India and its immediate neighbours. Secondly, India does not have any unilateral or hegemonic policies towards Southeast Asia. In 2012, former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, explicitly noted that New Delhi believes that Asean centrality is important in the evolving regional architecture which endorsed Asean’s leading role in regional diplomacy.

Even in a military/maritime level, India prefers to be invited into the region rather than an aggressive attitude.

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