The Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership was signed in the month of November at a virtual
meeting of member-states, on the margins of the annual East Asia Summit,
eight years after the bloc was launched. The timing is neither surprising nor
linked to any geopolitical development. It was announced during the East Asia
Summit last year. India joined the negotiations in 2012 and continued to be
part of them until the Bangkok meet. It was flexible in negotiations and made
adjustments in pursuit of a comprehensive, fair and balanced agreement. In the
end, the final document did not meet any of the three parameters. Firstly, it
remained weak on services, especially in areas where India had a competitive
advantage. But120 the breaking
point was the absence of specific safeguards on imports from China. One circuit-breaker
was the steep rise in140
imports. Another parameter was that since Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership permits differential coverage of market access between countries,
India wanted160 full assurance
that China would not be able to take advantage of the higher coverage
permitted to countries of Association of South East Asian Nations. India
did not get this assurance. The third parameter was adequate protection on
tariff increases it had instituted on some products since the negotiations
commenced, partly to remove anomalies such as levies on inputs being higher
than those on finished goods. There are also no guarantees that China will play
by the rules. It did not240 do
so as a member of World Trade Organization. India has found it hard to
access Chinese markets in areas of its competitive advantage, despite this
being routinely taken up at the highest levels. China has not stopped using
coercive280 trade measures to
express political displeasure against its partners in Free Trade Agreements.
India started entering into Free Trade Agreements and Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreements a few years ago. Among the members of Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership, it has Free320
Trade Agreements or Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements with
Singapore, Japan and Korea. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership would
have added China, Australia and New Zealand to the list. But it would have
been a Free Trade Agreement with China. However, India’s360 domestic industry was not
competitive enough to benefit from the existing Free Trade Agreements.
In any case, India’s largest exports were
going to countries with which it did not have Free Trade Agreements. It is
unlikely that India would have been able to withstand the
import surge from China and damage to its industry in the short-run had it
signed420 Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership. India’s focus should first be on becoming
industrially strong through a “Make in India” programme. Many members of Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership have reached this stage. An industrially
weak and economically vulnerable India would have hardly been able to shape the
region’s rules, despite arguments on the strategic merits of joining Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership. After480
all, China did not become the world’s biggest manufacturing power by
entering into Free Trade Agreements. Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership is being touted as a triumph of multilateralism in an age of
protectionism. But it is, at best, regionalism and it militates
against multilateralism, pursued through World Trade Organization. Free Trade
Agreements did not prevent supply shocks and disruptions during the pandemic.
Supply chain resilience, trust and efficiency have become more important these
days and will influence trade. China is560
already the largest-trading partner for most of the members of Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership. That has not prevented friction
among them, nor has it stopped countries from making strategic hedges. Japan
and Australia joined the Malabar Exercises; 35 per cent600 of Australia’s exports go to China, but China
has just presented 14 grievances to Australia. On the eve of the signing of Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Japan and Australia signalled stronger
defence ties. Australia has also become part of a640 trilateral agreement with India and
France. Japan and China are close trading partners, but tensions between them
remain high over China’s territorial claims. Neither the existing Free Trade
Agreements nor Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will stop China from
trampling on South East Asian claimants in the South China Sea. The trade
integration between the United States and China has not restrained700 the two countries from turning into
strategic rivals. The European enthusiasm for China is waning, with the latter
using its720 economic clout to
divide Europe. To deepen trade and economic ties in the Indo-Pacific region
and with current members of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, India does
not need Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as much as it
needs to get its own house in order. For a start, it must make
its industry innovative and competitive, its research and development on par
with the best, its logistics and trade infrastructure efficient, its human
resources skilled, its financial markets healthy and capable800 of low-cost finance, its administrative
and legal systems responsive, and its taxation stable, competitive and
predictable. This is the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The Constituent Assembly of India aroused the
vision of a new, vibrant independent India in which true840
swaraj would be realized not only by the nation but also by each individual.
Independent India set out on a new path of framing a democratic,
modern Constitution that would usher in political, social and economic
democracy in India. A new era of political freedom and individual rights had
just begun to guarantee a life of dignity for every citizen of this
great nation irrespective of his primordial linkages with caste, religion,
language or ethnicity. The Preamble of the Constitution reflected the
core constitutional values like liberty, justice, equality and various
freedoms. It also set the high ideals of a secular and democratic republic to
be realized through the instrument of the Constitution. Thus, the Constitution
was not just to960 be a legal document laying down the
framework of governance, but an agent of social and economic revolution.
The historical980 injustices were to be rectified by
the positive interventions of the State. Thus, the noble goals of an egalitarian
and just society became the prime pursuits of independent India. At the
same time, the gigantic tasks of nation building offered great
challenges given the reality of immense diversities which posed problems
in welding together disparate interests and multiple identities. Fortunately,
the leadership of independent India rose up to the task and set out the
process of nation building by giving due recognition to different languages by
linguistic reorganization of the States. Though Hindi was declared as the
official language of1080 the country,
each State was free to choose its own official language. Thus, contrary to apprehensions
about Balkanisation of India due to linguistic formation of States,
India emerged a more consolidated nation. The task of nation building
took into account1120 both the individual identities of the
Indians as well as their national identities. In other words, nation
building helped in creating unity in diversity which has been a
historical fact of our cultural and political existence since ancient times.
Another task that was taken up by the builders
of modern India was the gigantic task of State building. This involved creating
modern institutions of governance and more. A number of scientific institutions
were founded to make progress in the frontier1200
areas of science and technology. Today, we are proud of those
institutions and establishments. Thanks to the great vision of our political
leaders and scientific community, we have emerged as a self-reliant nation
in science and technology and are leaders in space and IT sectors. Similarly, a
robust foundation was laid for the security of the nation by creating a
strong1260
military capability. Utmost care was taken to ensure that our military
remains under civilian control and never comes out of1280
the barracks on its own. The foundation of a civilian regime was indeed a
great achievement of independent India, because most Asian-African nations
which became independent from colonial rule witnessed military coups and
dictatorship. More importantly, institutions of governance were created to
provide effective, good governance. An independent election commission, CAG,
Judiciary, a neutral civil service were the main institutions of
governance created. Sardar Patel rightly felt that only the All India
Services could secure the unity and integrity of India. On the
economic front, planned development was put on the top agenda towards the
goal of inclusive growth. Abolition of zamindari system, land reforms,
raising agricultural productivity by employing modern agricultural practices
changed the face of rural India and1400 made our country self-sufficient
in food. Nehru built the heavy industries for rapid industrialization of India.
On the external front, India espoused a value-based foreign policy which
drew itself from our cultural values of peace and co-existence and was1440
reflected during the national movement. Article 51 of the directive
principles enshrines these values. India became a sane voice of peace
during the cold war which threatened humanity. However, the needs of our
security were also addressed while articulating our value-based foreign policy
and the nuclear option and exercise of India's strategic autonomy expressed
through Nehru's policy of non-alignment added a realistic approach to
conduct of India's interaction with the external world. On the social justice
front, constitutional and statutory safeguards were provided for the
vulnerable and the deprived. The Supreme Court has championed the cause of those
who cannot seek justice on their own through a liberal view on Public
Interest Litigation. The failure of the executive and legislative branches
in delivering services and in protecting the poor and the needy has
resulted in judicial activism or judicial outreach. With all allegations of
acting beyond its defined boundaries, the Supreme Court has truly played the role
of a1600
catalyst and agent of social change by initiating social action to mitigate
the suffering of the poor.
