naranayan speech

8/9/2019 Naranayan Speech

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The 3rd

GLOBAL STRATEGIC REVIEW CONFERENCE

OF THE INTERNTATIONAL INSTITUTE

FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES

CHINA AND INDIA: THE ASIAN RISING POWERS

DEBATE: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

H. E. Mr. M.K. NARAYANAN

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER

INDIA

GENEVA,

SEPTEMBER 18, 2005


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Mr. Chairman,

I am delighted to be able to present before you an Indian perspective onthe debate regarding the rising powers of Asia China and India. This reflectsour view of the challenges and opportunities before us. Hopefully, it willcontribute in some manner to a better understanding of the significance of thechange that is underway in India, and its potential consequences for Asia andthe world. A balanced analysis would, however, be complete only when theachievements and interests of both India and China are objectively comparedand assessed.

2. The emerging phenomenon of the simultaneous rise of China and India

presents the international community with an unprecedented situation. It ispossibly difficult to find in history another occasion when two such largesocieties in close proximity to each other have risen in a parallel timeframe.Between them, the two societies account for a third of the human race.Uplifting such a large number within two generations is itself a uniquehappening. In itself, this should have a profound impact on the internationalorder. This is not to minimize the achievements of other Asian economies among them Japan, South Korea and ASEAN - who have achieved remarkablegrowth, but the scale of their endeavors is not comparable to that of China andIndia. Moreover, the integration of the global economy and the telescoping of

the time taken for the consequences to be felt in other parts of the worldensure that the consequences of this would be both global and profound.

3. The rise of China and India is also different from the historicalexperience of previous Centuries. It is not driven by military factors. Norindeed, is it the outcome of military achievements. It departs from earliertemplates by emphasizing `soft power' as its dominant characteristic. Inaddressing the implications of the phenomena, the international communitywill, therefore, really be moving into uncharted territory. Three broadconclusions can be safely drawn even at this stage: (a) the continuing growth of

China and India will shift the global center of gravity closer to Asia than atany time since the 18th century, (b) global institutions and decision-makingprocesses will have to accommodate China and India far more than theycurrently do, and (c) the readjustments that normally follow changes in theglobal power structure could take a non-traditional form.


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4. Having begun its economic reforms earlier than India, it is but naturalthat China's rise should be more advanced. The nature of reform itself, andconsequently its results have, however, manifested themselves distinctively in

each country. A large part of the debate on `rising power' has thus been thecomparison and contrast of their respective growth strategies. From theIndian perspective while acclaiming the Indian prototype, I would like toemphasize that there is a great deal of respect in India for what China hasbeen able to achieve economically. Indeed, in political discussions within ourpolity, China is often held up as an example of manifest progress, as was Japana generation earlier.

5. It is the international debate, rather than the internal discourse in India,

which seeks to project the parallel rise of China and India in competitiveterms. Our view which is the constant refrain of our Economist PrimeMinister is that there is enough space for both societies to continue togrow, and simultaneously achieve their aspirations. In fact, given theirdifferent cultural and historical background, their reform and modernizationprocesses can, and should, mutually reinforce each other, sharing bestpractices and taking advantage of each other's areas of strength. As risingsocieties and industrializing economies, India and China to-day share manycommon interests, including in trade, technology transfers, energy security andenvironment management.

6. I might here highlight many of India's long-term strengths. We are, andhave always been a market economy. Our tradition of entrepreneurship isreflected in the relatively high standards today of standardized managementand in the quality of our managers, our institutions and our legal framework.Similarly, education has always enjoyed a premium in Indian society and hasalways been perceived as a driving force for upward social mobility. This hasallowed us to establish a large network of educational institutions and build alarge human resource base of high quality. The combination of education and

entrepreneurship has spurred creativity and innovation. This has led to thephenomenon of what is now being described as the knowledge worker, andthis is well demonstrated by the emergence of the Indian IT industry. We havethe right mix of skills and resources to position India as a major knowledge-based economy in the coming decades.

7. Demographics are also likely to ensure that India will enjoy for a longtime increasing contributions to this skilled workforce, enabling continuous


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growth and development. Nearly 60% of India's population of 1 billion isunder 25 years of age. Annually, India produces more engineers than possiblythe whole of the European Union. The Asian rising powers debate is often

reduced to projecting China as the world's factory and India as the world'soffice, but this is an over simplification. Even in the medium-term, bothsocieties will need - and are likely to acquire - multiple dimensions to theirgrowth, though in a manner that reflects their particular characteristics.

8. I would also like to mention here one of India's unique strengths viz.its philosophical underpinnings and traditions. The belief that the world is onecommunity the concept of Vasudeva Kutumbakkam stems from this.Perhaps more than most civilizations ancient and modern India'sphilosophical tradition places great value on assimilation from other cultures

and traditions. The idea of India (which is written about often) embodies thistradition and it is this which, despite India's linguistic, religious, ethnic andother divisions, has largely contributed to India being seen as a vibrant nation;home to a billion people with a million problems; all the while functioningunder a democratic dispensation. In looking at the impressive growth posted byIndia (and China), the challenges posed by the management of a billion pluspeople on a daily basis often tend to be minimized.

9. India's democratic culture is often seen as cumbersome in creating aconsensus for change. It has nevertheless ensured - despite the huge challenges

posed in managing economic growth with its attendant problems that thechanges effected enjoy stability and permanency. Democratic cultures, nodoubt, tend to be more rule-bound. This is well reflected in Indian policy,domestically and internationally. There are, however, few Governments thathave implemented their obligations as conscientiously as India's has done. Theintegration of the Indian economy into the global processes has also beenseamless and politically non-controversial, precisely because we are perceivedto be rule-bound. It is the combination of these political, economic and socialfactors alongside India's philosophical characteristics which has given India'sreform process a high degree of sustainability.

10. India has its share of problems many of them being of a nature thatwould have overwhelmed most other countries. At one level, India has had tocontend with serious contradictions as far as its development and growthstrategies are concerned. Many a time, it has had to deal with difficult issues


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of distribution, both vertical and horizontal. This is not unusual in a multi-layered society such as ours. Nevertheless, the management of contradictionscan, and has tended, sometimes been a very painstaking exercise. There areagain hardly any periods when some part of India is not coping with naturaldisasters or addressing serious health situations.

11. At another level, India has had to contend with problems arising frominsurgencies and separatist movements, fuelled by real or imagined grievances.India has also been a long standing victim of terrorism - religious, ethnic,ideological much of it directed from outside the country. I would like tostress here that whether terrorism is global, regional or local, they all have onecommon characteristic, viz. the institutionalization of violence. Meeting this

type of challenge has hence not been easy, specially as to-day's terrorists havea trans-national reach, rely increasingly on non-State actors, share commonoperating procedures, common operating philosophies, common trainingparadigms and common funding structures, etc.

12. The strategic challenges in India's extended neighbourhood fortunatelyappear to be less daunting than was the perception previously. The key focusin our external relations to-day is ensuring the stability and security of theregion, comprising the arc of nations from the Persian Gulf to East Asia. Thisentails building cooperative relationships with all of India's neighbours, and is

the primary aim of India's foreign policy currently. India's decision to enterinto a cooperative strategic relationship with China fully mirrors thisapproach. With Pakistan, there has been substantial improvement in relationsof late and there is a continuing dialogue at several levels, including betweenthe Prime Minister of India and President Musharraf of Pakistan. India'srelations with Sri Lanka have seldom been better. Bhutan's relations withIndia also continue to be extremely close. Relations with Myanmar are rapidlyimproving. There are some problems in India's relations with Bangladesh andNepal presently, but India is hopeful that these can and will be settled tomutual satisfaction.

13. While a great deal of effort is demanded on India's part to deal withproblems of every kind, India has been conscious of the need to include therequirements of its neighbours while designing its reforms strategies. India'sbelief is that an India growing at 7-8% can become an engine of growth forthe entire South Asian region and perhaps even beyond. The benefits of thisapproach are already evident to some extent. The linkage


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pluralistic and secular society, a market economy, a rule-bound player at homeand abroad, and a globally responsible nation. As our capabilities expand andthere is a stronger sense that the international community is supportive of

India's interests, we are willing to state that we are prepared to take on greaterresponsibilities.

20. The debate on rising powers in Asia is not likely to reach a definitiveconclusion soon. I am confident, however, that as India and China advancealong their paths of national growth, the focus would be more on how tofacilitate their active participation in contributing to effective and durablesolutions to the major global challenges of our times, rather than on thedisruptive aspects.

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