By M.R. Narayan Swamy, IANS
Singapore : Even as it agreed to increase strategic cooperation with China, India Wednesday made clear its intention to deepen all-round ties with Asean countries as well as Japan as part of its successful “Look East” policy.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made his country’s intentions known here at the sixth summit of India with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the East Asia Summit that also groups Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea.
In 24 hectic hours since his arrival here Tuesday evening, Manmohan Singh also had meetings with the leaders of Myanmar, China, Japan and Malaysia besides talking to the rulers of Singapore, which has emerged as India’s most vocal friend in the region.
He also attended an exhibition on the spread of Buddhism from India to China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
Accused by his Left allies of taking India too close to the US, Manmohan Singh held cordial talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao Tuesday for about 30 minutes and agreed to take their Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity “to a new level”. Wen said his country considered friendship with India “a strategic and long term objective of China”.
Wen and Manmohan Singh also expressed their readiness “to see a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution” to their long-standing boundary dispute that led to a bitter border war in 1962.
And as New Delhi prepared to talk to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on India-specific safeguards for its civilian nuclear reactors, Wen told Manmohan Singh that China would be supportive of “international civil nuclear energy cooperation with India”.
India is finding itself eagerly courted by some of the Southeast Asian countries and also Japan that appear worried by China’s ballooning economic and military might.
Also on Tuesday, Manmohan Singh held his first meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Both agreed to strengthen their cooperation in regional and multilateral forums on key issues such as UN Security Council reforms and climate change.
India and Japan along with Brazil and Germany are seeking permanent spots on the Security Council.
In his first bilateral engagement on his arrival here, Manmohan Singh told his Myanmar counterpart Thein Sein to accelerate the process of reconciliation with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and various ethnic nationalities in his troubled country.
At the India-Asean summit, Manmohan Singh pledged to conclude a long-delayed free trade agreement by March next year despite persistent Indian objections to Asean demands to cut tariffs on commodities such as coconut oil, palm oil and tea.
Manmohan Singh said that cooperation with Asean was “a win-win formula for both of us” and said India’s trade ties with Asean countries and military cooperation with some of them were part of its “Look East” policy.
He unveiled several initiatives while addressing Asean leaders.
Pointing out that the trade target of $30 billion set by Asean and India for this year had already been achieved, Manmohan Singh said this should be hiked to $50 billion by 2010.
He agreed to make training courses for Asean diplomas an annual feature, urged Asean to simplify the visa regime for businessmen, called for a framework of cooperation in traditional medicine systems, proposed an India-Asean Network on Climate Change and also announced an India-Asean Green Fund with an initial contribution of $5 million.
He paid special tributes to Singapore, whose leaders – worried by China’s overwhelming growth – have strongly advocated higher forms of partnership with India.
India’s dramatic economic growth along with China’s was driving Asia’s transformation, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong told Asian leaders here Tuesday.
Lee said in a published interview recently that growing all-round friendship with India “means a broader, more balanced and more comprehensive network of cooperation”.
Lee also made it clear that while Singapore was all for military ties with India, it would be unthinkable to have similar tie-ups with communist China or Japan because of Tokyo’s history of occupation of this city state during World War II.
And to underline India’s special status, Lee said that while New Delhi was a friend of the US like New Zealand, Japan and Australia, it also pursued an independent foreign policy.
Manmohan Singh returns to New Delhi after midnight Wednesday. Then, after attending parliament session in the morning, takes off Thursday afternoon for Uganda to attend the Commonwealth Summit.