Asian Security: Comprehending the Indian Approach

February 11, 2014

New Delhi: The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, India’s oldest and premier think tank, is hosting the 17th Asian Security Conference on ‘Asian Security: Comprehending the Indian Approach’, on February 11-13, 2015, in New Delhi.

The shift of power to Asia in the 21st century with its imminent economic rise has amplified the security challenges that the continent faces within the larger rubric of international relations. Key concerns include major power rivalries, tensions over disputed territories, freedom of Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs), security dilemmas connected to military modernization, the robustness of regional institutional mechanisms, intra-state conflicts and last but not the least, the perspectives of major actors like Russia, China and India on Asian regional order: whether they view it as purely competitive or cooperative-competitive.

Historically, Asia has been an important geographical cusp in the pathway of civilizations. Arabia, the Ottoman Empire, the Mongols, the Chinese empires, India, Ceylon, etc, have played major roles in the fight for territory, resources and the spread of ideas and religion. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, etc., have been major religious influences, while mathematics, science, astronomy, the printing press, gun powder, the wheel, etc., draws their origin to Asia. Asian cultures and civilizations have been instrumental in the conceptualization and operationalisation of the strategic cultures and military modernizations of other civilizations. The extreme forms of competition that precluded the colonial period, and the meeting of Asia and the West led loose new forces of military modernizations, especially naval technologies with faster ships, and the idea of sea dominance.

The colonial period was critical for the formation of an Asian idea of difference as most of the countries were either colonized or suffered from deep seated anxieties due to their contact with the West, memories that continue to shape ideas and foreign policies to this day.

India emerged from colonialism with a solid sense of national identity. The leaders of the Indian freedom movement expressed attractive visions of the kind of state India should become. India’s approach to foreign policy and international relations has, over the years, been propelled by ideas drawn from the leaders of the Indian freedom movement, their aspirations for India, as well as its own experiences and engagements with the world since its independence.

While many strategic analysts, both in India and abroad, accuse India of lacking a strategic culture or strategic thinking, a deep foray into Indian foreign policy behaviour reveals that India does have a strategic culture where it closely monitors the external environment and debates on the efficacy of the use of military power in addressing external threats. Over the years, some of the major developments in India’s economic and foreign policy have been the 1991 economic reforms that opened up the Indian economy to globalization, the 1998 nuclear tests, its space program, and its growing role in Asian multilateralism.

Areas that have emerged as of priority to India are its strategic partnerships with major powers, cyber, space and energy security, terrorism, nuclear safety and security, the Indian Ocean region, the US ‘pivot’ and the rise of China. In this backdrop, it is critical to discuss and assess whether India has reached a stage of power acquisition that equips it with system ‘shaping capabilities and intentions’. This discussion should emerge from the fact that India has showed the potential to shape and mould the international system, and it aspires to a larger system shaping role in the future.

Based on this conceptual prop, the 17th Asian Security Conference will focus on the theme, “Asian Security: Comprehending the Indian Approach”. Given the overall focus on Asia with its increased prosperity, and the rise of major Asian powers in the context of decreasing resources, naval competition, American presence, and quest for prestige, the conference will deliberate on India’s strategic role and preferences in shaping Asian Security. The conference will focus not only on what India’s approach has been but also what should be India’s future proactive approach towards shaping Asian security.

The key thematic questions that will weave together the multiple interactive sessions of the conference are:-

1. What role can India play in shaping the structural and normative parameters for Asian security?
2. What are India’s strategic preferences and choices for Asia’s security future?
3. How do the major powers of Asia and the United States view India’s role towards cementing Asian security?
4. Has India transcended its regional role as a South Asian power to the broader regional context of Asia?
5. What are the key scenarios that emerge from the 17th Asian security conference that India will have to respond to in the next 10 to 15 years?