Commentaries
Keywords: ASEAN, Southeast Asia, India, Act East Policy, Indo-Pacific, Singapore, Brunei
Date: 23nd September 2024
India’s commitment towards strengthening its ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region was further reflected during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Brunei and Singapore. The visit also reinforced New Delhi’s increasing push to foster deeper economic, strategic and people-to-people partnerships with the ASEAN region and the larger East Asia region.
Several bilateral agreements were signed during the visit covering a wide range of areas that included trade, commerce, defence, culture and technology. All these are geared towards realizing the true potential of comprehensive cooperation and partnership with these countries and the wider region.
Singapore has been considered India’s gateway to ASEAN since the 1990s when New Delhi initiated its Look East Policy (later renamed as Act East in 2014). Over the past decades, the island city-state has emerged as one of the most important economic and strategic partners for India with two countries enjoying a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”
In light of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, the visit of Prime Minister Modi was timely and historic. During his visit, Prime Minister Modi met Singapore’s president Tharman Shanmugartanam and his counterpart Lawrence Wong.
Indian businesses have seen the island city-state as an entry-point to expand to the other parts of the ASEAN region and beyond. Thus, during Modi’s visit to Singapore, a special focus was given on further strengthening cooperation in six pillars for future cooperation that included trade, investment, and technology. Today the bilateral trade between India and Singapore stands at around USD 36.6 billion (2022-23). Singapore is also the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the semiconductor sector was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Modi and his newly elected counterpart Lawrence Wong. New Delhi aims to expand its production and export capabilities in the semiconductor chip supply chains and wants to effectively utilize its cooperation with Singapore which holds around 10 percent of global chip manufacturing capacity.
Prime Minister Modi described the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) as a “path-breaking mechanism.” Already both countries have been cooperating in the fintech area including the decision in 2023 to link India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) with Singapore’s PayNow system. This has benefited the business community and the large Indian diaspora as the cost of cross-border remittances has been drastically reduced.
During Prime Minister Modi’s visit, the two countries also held discussions in areas of defence cooperation that included exploring opportunities for joint defence development and production. Discussions are held on areas of digital banking, blockchain technology, and cybersecurity and cooperation in space technology. Furthermore, agreements on digital technologies, health, and skill development areas were concluded during the visit.
Cultural ties have always been a cornerstone between the two countries with the Indian diaspora playing a crucial role. The establishment of Thiruvalluvar centre (named after the famous Tamil poet and philosopher) in Singapore was also announced during a visit of Prime Minister Modi.
Singapore’s support for New Delhi’s flagship Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) is a reflection of the shared commitment towards the rule of law and freedom of navigation in international waters to promote and preserve peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Brunei's geostrategic location holds an important place in the maritime domain and in the context of the maritime disputes in South China Sea. Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to Brunei was the first for an Indian Prime Minister in the last 40 years after diplomatic ties were established between the two countries.
Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and Prime Minister Modi discussed various issues of mutual interests including commitment towards building a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Discussions were also held to enhance trade relations with their bilateral trade reaching USD 286.2 million in the year 2023-24. Both countries have also been working towards building a joint working group in defence.
Collaboration in maritime security and trade connectivity received a new momentum with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Brunei. With deepening bilateral relations, India’s investment opportunity in Brunei's deep sea Muara port remains a potential area for cooperation.
In light of the growing maritime tensions in the South China Sea region, both Singapore and Brunei are crucial in India’s engagement with Southeast Asia in the Indo-Pacific region. Both Singapore and Brunei active participation in the IPOI indicates growing strategic convergence with New Delhi. In the context of the increasing importance of semiconductor chips, the pact between India and Singapore holds immense geo-economic significance.
Brunei has rich reserves of natural resources, including oil and gas, and offers significant opportunities for investments by Indian companies. Moreover, as Brunie looks to expand beyond hydrocarbon exports, cooperation with Indian expertise in information technology has huge potential.
Prime Minister Modi’s recent visits to the two ASEAN member countries mark another significant step in India’s engagement with the region and lays the ground for deeper cooperation between India and ASEAN nations to further boost New Delhi’s Act East ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
Prasanna Kumar is a doctoral research scholar at Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat
Disclaimer: The views expressed above and the information available are those of the author/s and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the position of Asian Confluence
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