Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
routes extended from the Gulf to the Malacca Straits, the gateway to South China
Sea and the Pacific. The setting up of a new Andaman and Nicobar Command at
Port Blair asserts Indian strategic interests in the region: a signal to ASEAN, and
to China.
This maritime dimension is part of the Indo-French strategic dialogue. Besides
the service-to-service cooperation between the two Navies and the question of
defense equipment, two issues deserve comment. In 1997, the Indian Ocean Rim
Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) was launched with India,
Australia and South Africa as key-members. It suffered a setback after India's
nuclear tests, but may strengthen itself in the future. Since the inception of the
Association, Paris has conveyed to New Delhi France's willingness to be co-
opted as a member of the regional grouping, which include today 19 rim
countries. France has been accepted in 2001 only as a dialogue partner.
More immediately relevant, whatever its shortcomings, is the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), the only strategic grouping accommodating India. The
European Union is a member of ARF, but France would like 'to participate on a
national basis in the activities of the ARF'. 32 Here again, the decision is not in
the hands of India alone. Here again, India's commitment is not quite explicit.
ASKING FOR MORE: UNMET EXPECTATIONS
Although the Indo-French strategic dialogue might go on very well, and the
atmospherics of the military relationship might be warm, India is not obtaining
complete satisfaction from Paris. This is true up to a point at the political level:
New Delhi would appreciate stronger statements from Paris regarding Pakistan's
policy in Kashmir. This is true also as far as the overall economic cooperation is
concerned. This is equally true for the most sensitive dimensions of trade,
covering defense equipment and civil nuclear energy.
Looking for More Investments
It has been said repeatedly, all through the 1990s, that bilateral trade and French
investments in India are not what they should be. The Indian quest for
international status cannot ignore economic parameters, and the extended notion
of security encompasses not just energy supplies but also access to technology
and capital for developing infrastructures. Another matter of debate, not just
confined to bilateral relations, are the issues debated upon in the World Trade
Organization, which partly affects the way India deals with what is sometimes
labeled as 'Fortress Europe', a definition contested by French authorities.
For the past ten years, between France and India, innumerable ministers' visits,
business associations meetings, industrial seminars and trade fairs have been
conducted, and the economic departments in respective embassies have been
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