What is the issue?
- President Ram Nath Kovind chose Vietnam as the first Southeast Asian country to visit in his capacity as the President.
- It is essential, in this context, to assess the further prospects in India-Vietnam relations.
How has Vietnam's progress been?
- Since its Doi Moi policy (domestic political and economic renewal campaign) in 1986, Vietnam has made dramatic strides.
- Today it is a rapidly growing, regional economic giant, showing dynamism and pragmatism.
- Being an importer of agricultural products earlier, today it is a major exporter.
- Agricultural competence has furthered its entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
- CPTPP accounts for nearly 14% of the global GDP and thus boosts Vietnam’s economic growth.
How prospective is India-Vietnam relations?
- One of the core areas of Mr. Kovind’s visit focussed on furthering cooperation in agriculture and innovation-based sectors.
- This is expected to further the potential for increasing bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2020.
- Health - Vietnam has highlighted, in 2016, the importance of linking economic growth to universal health care.
- By this, 80% population would be covered by health insurance.
- India too, since 2011, has been focussing on the need to deliver accessible and affordable health insurance to weaker sections.
- Certainly, health care is an area of potential convergence for both Vietnam and India.
- Also, with India moving closer to signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, it can get to the forefront of the services sector globally.
- So in this backdrop too, convergence in health care through joint public-private partnership agreements can be explored.
- Foreign policy - Internationally, Vietnam’s foreign policy is characterised by ‘multidirectionalism’.
- It addresses regional asymmetries in power balance by engaging across a broad spectrum of states to achieve its interests.
- Increasingly, this asymmetrical power structure in the region counteracts the rise of China.
- In turn, by bringing regional and extra-regional states together to address the shifts, it offers scope for India too.
- Within this context, Vietnam even normalised relations with the U.S., its former opponent.
- Security - Today, there is increasing commonality of security concerns between Vietnam and its ASEAN partners.
- This applies with Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. as well.
- This is particularly in the areas of maritime security and adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- In this context, Asian leaders have endorsed the idea of Indo-Asia-Pacific.
- So finding compatibility between the ‘Indo-Asia-Pacific’ and the U.S. driven ‘Indo-Pacific’ necessitates a nuanced approach.
- Regional concerns of ASEAN centrality can be addressed, as well as the diverse approaches to maintaining regional stability.
- In pursuance of this, India and Vietnam have planned a bilateral level maritime security dialogue in early 2019.
- Sub-regionalism - Vietnam has focussed on both sub-regionalism and regionalism as the core of its priorities.
- This has helped mitigate fears of smaller members of ASEAN on centrifugal forces of China’s rise.
- India too looks at both sub-regionalism and regionalism as priority avenues to pursue its foreign policy.
- The India-Vietnam Joint Statement of March 2018 reiterates the focus given to sub-regionalism and the Mekong Ganga Cooperation framework.
- However, another area is emerging, in the CLV (Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam) growth triangle sub-regional cooperation.
- So India and Vietnam can jointly explore the potential for enhancing capacity building and providing technical assistance and training within this sub-regional grouping.
What lies ahead?
- The major takeaway from Mr. Kovind’s visit is the reference to the ‘cooperation model’ India offers, providing choices and opportunities.
- This reference highlights India’s willingness to address issues on which increasing synergies need to evolve.
- One such area where convergence is likely, but has been held back due to individual preference, is the $500 million line of credit offered to Vietnam.
- Both India and Vietnam possess the capacity to find compatibility in areas promoting defence cooperation and infrastructure.
- Having progressed under the Look East and Act East Policies, the ties now need to factor in pragmatism for moving further.
Source: The Hindu
