Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s visits to Brunei and Singapore from September 3 to 5 within 100 days of assuming office in his third term, was a demonstration of the importance that he attaches to relations with ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific.
These visits, following closely on the footsteps of the incoming visits of the Vietnamese and Malaysian prime ministers, as well as travel by President Droupadi Murmu to Fiji, Timor-Leste and New Zealand, underline the Indian government’s commitment to further expanding bilateral, regional and global relations with ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific.
The Brunei Visit
Modi’s visit to Brunei was the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Brunei since it became independent on January 1, 1984, and established diplomatic relations with India in May 1984. In pursuance of discussions between him and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, bilateral ties were upgraded to ‘enhanced partnership’. This demonstrates the determination of the two countries to significantly intensify their multi-faceted relations.
Modi and Sultan Bolkiah agreed to enhance cooperation on a wide range of issues, including defence, connectivity, trade and investment, energy including renewables, space, ICT, health and pharmaceuticals, education and capacity building, culture, tourism, youth and people-to-people exchanges, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Since 2000, Brunei has hosted the ISRO’s Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand (TTC) station. During the current visit, a renewed memorandum of understanding (MOU) was concluded to further expand cooperation in this sector.
Brunei is richly endowed with fossil fuels. India is a hugely energy deficient country. It was decided to enter into a long-term agreement for supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India.
Brunei Airlines plans to launch a direct flight from Chennai to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei in November. This will enhance tourism, business connectivity and expand people-to-people connect between the two countries. It was agreed to intensify defence and maritime cooperation, including regular exchanges of visits, training programmes, joint exercises and visits of naval and coast guard ships between the two countries.
A significant outcome of the visit was the reiteration by the two leaders of an open, free and inclusive Indo-Pacific. They reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, as well as respecting freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce, consistent with international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. This was a direct challenge to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea.
Full agreement between the two sides was also evident in combating global challenges like climate change and terrorism.
The Singapore Visit
As in the case of Brunei, bilateral ties with Singapore were upgraded to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership. This was a clear signal about the commitment of the two countries to further expand their engagement.
Discussions between the two sides built upon the comprehensive discussions at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable on August 26, in which four senior ministers from India and six ministers from Singapore took part. The PMs commended the work done by the ministers in identifying the six pillars (sustainability, digitalisation, skills development, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and connectivity) for bilateral cooperation.
The leaders reviewed cooperation in defence and security, maritime domain awareness, education, AI, fintech, new technology, science and technology, and knowledge partnership. They called for strengthening connectivity to boost economic and people-to-people ties, and an acceleration in green corridor projects. They reaffirmed the importance of the extensive longstanding bilateral defence partnership.
The most significant outcome of the visit was the signing of four ambitious agreements which will make bilateral ties future-ready by enhancing cooperation in the areas of digital technologies, semiconductor ecosystem, health and medicine, and education.
The MOU in digital technologies will boost bilateral co-operation in digital public infrastructure, cyber-security, 5G and emerging technologies such as super-computing, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The agreement on semiconductor ecosystem partnership will encourage co-operation in semiconductor-cluster development, and cultivation of talent in semiconductor design and manufacturing.
Singapore accounts for 10 per cent of global semiconductor output, 5 per cent of global fabrication capacity, and 20 per cent of semiconductor equipment production. This MOU will facilitate investments by Singapore’s companies in India. The pact on health and medicine aims at promoting closer cooperation in human resource development in healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors. The fourth agreement focused on educational co-operation and skill development.
As with Brunei, PM Modi and the Singaporean leadership reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea. They emphasised the pursuit of peaceful dispute resolution in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS 1982, without resorting to the threat or use of force.
Conclusion
Modi’s bilateral visit to Brunei marked the 40th anniversary of establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations as well as 40 years of Brunei’s independence. In addition to its high symbolism, it was highly substantive in taking forward cooperation between the two countries in bilateral economic, political, security and strategic areas as well as in promoting regional peace, security and prosperity.
India and Singapore share mutual trust and confidence among their leaders. This was evident when Modi held separate meetings not only with PM Wong and President Shanmugaratnam but also with the two former PMs of Singapore — Lee Hsien Loong and Goh Chok Tong — who continue to hold influential positions in Wong’s cabinet. Singaporean PMs typically remain in office for extended periods; Goh Chok Tong served for 14 years, and Loong for 20 years. Given that Wong is relatively young (51 years) and assumed office in May 2024, it can be anticipated that he will have a lengthy tenure.
The visit provided Modi with a valuable opportunity to establish a personal rapport with Wong, which will be greatly beneficial for both countries for years to come. His visit to Singapore was highly substantive and far-reaching because India and Singapore already enjoy deep and strong commercial, economic and people to people ties.
Further, his visits to Brunei and Singapore will provide a significant boost to India’s partnerships with these countries and with ASEAN as a whole.
(The writer is executive council member, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, president, Institute of Global Studies, Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Aspen Centre, and former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views)
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