BurmaNet News, January 20 - 22, 2007

[Editor]

January 20-22, 2007 Issue # 3125

INSIDE BURMA
Sunday Telegraph: Burma 'orders Christians to be wiped out'
Irrawaddy: Junta Crackdown on Illegal Logging in Arakan State
DVB: Clashes between SSA-South and Burmese military stop

ON THE BORDER
Khonumthung: Burmese pro-democracy activists detained in Mizoram

BUSINESS / TRADE
Narinjara: Burma Military Government to Decide on Gas Exports by May
SinoCast: CNPC to Invest in Burma Deep-sea Oil and Gas
Xinhua: Myanmar private airline to launch international flights in April

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: India to Continue Arming Burma
Irrawaddy: Burmese Workers Protests Double Taxation in Singapore

INTERNATIONAL
AP: Desmond Tutu "deeply disappointed" with South Africa's vote against
UNSC resolution

OPINION / OTHER
Jakarta Post: Myanmar and democracy in our foreign policy
India Today: PAFTA Anyone?

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 21, Sunday Telegraph
Burma 'orders Christians to be wiped out' - Peter Pattisson

The military regime in Burma is intent on wiping out Christianity in the
country, according to claims in a secret document believed to have been
leaked from a government ministry. Entitled "Programme to destroy the
Christian religion in Burma", the incendiary memo contains point by point
instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state.

The text, which opens with the line "There shall be no home where the
Christian religion is practised", calls for anyone caught evangelising to
be imprisoned. It advises: "The Christian religion is very gentle –
identify and utilise its weakness."

Its discovery follows widespread reports of religious persecution, with
churches burnt to the ground, Christians forced to convert to the state
religion, Buddhism, and their children barred from school.

Human rights groups claim that the treatment meted out to Christians, who
make up six per cent of the population, is part of a wider campaign by the
regime, also targeted at ethnic minority tribes, to create a uniform
society in which the race and language is Burmese and the only accepted
religion is Buddhism.

In the past year, an estimated 27,000 members of the predominantly
Christian Karen tribe were driven from their homes in eastern Burma.

In Koh Kyi village, in Arakan State, a monk backed by the military burnt
down the local church. In another state, 300 monks were allegedly sent by
the regime to forcibly convert the populace, all of whom belonged to the
Chin ethnic group, which is mostly Christian.

The document, shown to The Sunday Telegraph by human rights groups, may
have been produced by a state-sponsored Buddhist group, but with the tacit
approval of the military junta. The regime has denied authorship of the
document – which also calls for teenagers to be prevented from wearing
Western clothes – but has made no public attempt to refute or repudiate
its contents.

The dictatorship has long been accused of large-scale human rights abuses.
In power since 1988, the generals annulled the National League for
Democracy's sweeping 1990 election victory and jailed its leader, the
Nobel peace prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi. She remains under house arrest.
Last week she was accused of tax evasion for failing to hand over any of
her Nobel prize winnings to the authorities.

Eha Hsar Paw, a Karen Christian, who fled her village while heavily
pregnant to a refugee camp near the border with Thailand, said: "The
journey here was very difficult. It was hard to leave our village, but if
we had stayed there we would all be dead."

____________________________________

January 22, Irrawaddy
Junta Crackdown on Illegal Logging in Arakan State - Shah Paung

The Burmese military government has cracked down on illegal logging in
Taunggok Township of Arakan State and has arrested suspects who were
involved in illegal logging, according to residents in Taunggok.

According to sources close to the persons who were arrested, a Military
Affairs Security group under the command of Brig-Gen Maung Shein, chairman
of Arakan State Peace and Development Council, started the crack down on
illegal logging in Taunggok on January 5, arresting about 30 workers and
confiscating about 1,000 tons of timber.

People who were arrested are normal workers and now their families are
without any support, the sources said. They have not been charged.

The sources claim the owners of the logging trucks, former military
intelligence officials and local Burmese authorities who were involved in
the illegal logging have not been arrested and are in hiding. The persons
behind the illegal logging burned their logging factories before fleeing.

The current Minister of Home Affairs, Maj-Gen Muang Oo, was chairman of
Arakan State prior to his current appointment in 2003. The illegal logging
businesses took off in Taunggok under his administration, sources claim.

A source in Taunggok said that illegal timber was exported to Bangladesh.
To cross the border, the logging owners are said to have paid tax at more
than seven military check points.

One ton of teak can sell for as much as 500,000 kyats (US $393) in
Taunggok and as much as 2,000,000 kyat (US $1,574) in Bangladesh. One ton
of other hard wood trees can sell for as much as 500,000 kyats (US $393)
in Bangladesh.

____________________________________

January 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Clashes between SSA-South and Burmese military stop

Clashes between the Shan State Army-South and the Burmese military have
all but stopped since the start of 2007, according to the rebel group’s
newly appointed spokesperson major Lao Hseng.

Hseng told DVB today the fighting that had been reported between the SSA-S
and the military last month had ended and that the Shan group was
dedicated to engaging in dialogue with the ruling State Peace and
Development Council.

“In our annual meeting, we have managed to conclude with a decision—that
we will sort out the political matters we are encountering in our Shan
State and Union of Burma, in a political way,” he said.

“That's probably one reason why the offences have stopped. It will be
inappropriate of [the SPDC] to launch an offence . . . when we already
have said we’d like to use peaceful methods to end our political
disagreements.”

Residents in Tachiliek today confirmed that security measures in the Shan
border town had relaxed since fresh fighting was first reported last year
and that several significant public events, including bicycle races and
boxing matches, were being held.

“We can assume [the military] are not looking forward to any combat at the
moment because usually they don't hold such public gatherings when there
are fights planned in the area,” one resident said.

But Hseng said small sporadic clashes between the SSA-S and armed
ceasefire groups such as the United Wa State Army and the SSA splinter
group led by commander Mein Sin were continuing.

“We have small encounters, in middle Shan State, with the SSA's separatist
group, the brigade 758,” Hseng said.

The 848-member strong SSA-S brigade 758, led by commander Mein Sin, left
the Shan group in July 2006 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the
Burmese military.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper ran a statement from the
group yesterday condemning the US-led attempt to have a resolution on
Burma passed by the United Nations Security Council.

But Hseng told DVB many of Mein Sin’s group had already returned to the
SSA-S after finding the military too difficult to deal with. He said the
military had coerced the group into fighting the SSA-S and that many
members of the splinter group had said they were uncomfortable with the
situation.

“[Brigade 758] do not have enough man-power to fight with us . . . there
are number of privates and officials who have returned to our side. So
there are only a small number of them left [in agreement with the SPDC].
And there is a case of SPDC using them to attack us back,” Hseng said.

While arrival of a number of UWSA troops in Shan State’s Mongton township
earlier this month sparked speculation among analysts and Shan groups that
the Wa rebels were preparing for fresh fights with the SSA-S, Hseng said
there was little outright animosity between the two groups.

“We see UWSA as just another armed-group operating in Shan State. We
understand that they are not fighting with us with their own will . . .
There are cases sometimes when we might even talk to each other [over the
radio],” he said.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 20, Khonumthung News
Burmese pro-democracy activists detained in Mizoram

In a surprise raid on the office of a Burmese opposition group on the
Indo-Burma border today, the Indian Army detained 22 Burmese pro-democracy
activists.

About 25 Indian Army personnel, apparently from battalions stationed in
Lunglei and Saiha, launched an unexpected raid on the Public Affairs
Committee (PAC) office of the Chin pro-democracy group in College Quarter,
Saiha town in Mizoram state, northeast India. Recently a health related
training programme 'Training for Trainer' was organized by the National
Health and Education Committee (Western Region) here.

Both trainers Dr Aung Kyaw Oo and Dr Pa Kyin of the NHEC (WR) and trainees
from various ethnic groups based in western parts of Burma were locked up
in the kitchen of the PAC office.

At the time of receiving the report from sources close to the activists,
Indian Army soldiers were still surrounding the office. The detainees
could not be contacted.

The number of trainees locked up along with their trainers in the PAC
office account for 15 health workers from Chin Backpack Mobile team, three
from the Naga National league of Democracy and three from an Arakan Health
Group.

Till the time of despatching this report, the reason for the break-in and
detention of were not known.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 21, Narinjara
Burma Military Government to Decide on Gas Exports by May

The Burmese military government will make a decision regarding the export
of gas to India by May, after the reserves in its offshore areas are
certified, according to a quote from U Soe Myint, Director of the General
Energy Planning Division in Burma's Ministry of Energy, as reported by the
India PTI news agency.

The report said that the current estimate of gas reserves in Burma would
not support exporting any to India either through a pipeline or in the
form of LNG.

Independent certifiers have certified 4.8 trillion cubic feet of gas
reserves in Arakan's offshore block A-1, while in the adjacent block A-3
the reserves will be established after the current appraisal drilling is
completed in May.

Gas from the two blocks will be tied up and developed together between
India and Burma. Burma will first use the gas for its own consumption and
then if there is a surplus, [Burma] will look to exports, U Soe Myint is
reported as saying.

However, the Burmese government has not yet initiated any projects to
utilize the gas for the Arakanese people, traditional owners of the
offshore fields, nor for the rest of the people of Burma.

____________________________________

January 22, SinoCast
CNPC to Invest in Burma Deep-sea Oil and Gas

China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation
(CNODC), a subsidiary of CNPC, has signed a contract with Myanmar Oil and
Gas Enterprise in exploiting oil and gas in three deep-sea sections of
Burma.

The three sections, AD-1, AD-6 and AD-8, are off the coast of Rakhine
State, covering a total area of 10,000 square kilometers.
Burma has rich reserves of oil and natural gas, namely 2.54 trillion cubic
meters of natural gas reserves and 3.2 billion barrels of oil reserves.
Since the resources was opened for foreign capital in 1988, it has
attracted foreign capital from Britain, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia,
Canada, South Korea, China, Thailand and India, with total contractual
value of USD 2.6 billion in the first half of 2006.
According to its 2005/2006 (March 2005-March 2006) fiscal year report,
Burma exported 9.138 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which made USD 1
billion worth of foreign currency.

____________________________________

January 22, Xinhua
Myanmar private airline to launch international flights in April

A Myanmar private airline, Air Bagan, will launch its first international
flights beginning April to cover three regional destinations, an official
of the airline told a press conference here Monday.

Using two newly-bought airbus A310-200 aircraft for the first time in
Myanmar, the airline will start its flights in the first week of April for
routes of Yangon-Mandalay-Kunming-Mandalay- Yangon twice a week,
Yangon-Bangkok-Yangon and Yangon-Singapore- Yangon daily, said Tay Za,
Chairman of the Air Bagan Ltd.

Tay Za also said that Air Bagan also plans to extend its regular flights
to Siem Reap of Cambodia and chartered flights to South Korea and Japan.
One more already-bought Fokker F-100 aircraft will arrive later this month
and another 158-seat Airbus A-320 aircraft will be purchased from
Singapore in September to reinforce its international flights, he said.

The airline has been flying between Yangon and 17 domestic destinations
using one Fokker F-100 aircraft, two France-made ATR- 72 aircraft and
three ATR-42 aircrafts.
Inaugurated in November 2004, Air Bagan was the third largest domestic
private airline after Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways and the first full
private investment airline in Myanmar owned by the Htoo Trading Co Ltd.

According to official statistics, foreign airlines flying Myanmar have
reportedly reached 14 including Thai Airways International, Indian
Airlines, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Air China, Malaysian Airlines, Bangkok
Airways, Biman, Jetstar Asia, Phuket Airline and Thai Air Asia.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 22, Irrawaddy
India to Continue Arming Burma - Khun Sam

India has promised further military aid to Burma’s ruling junta and asked
for increased cooperation in fighting Indian insurgent groups operating
along its border with Burma, according to Indian press reports.

The issues were raised during a three-day visit to Burma’s administrative
capital Naypyidaw by a delegation led by India’s External Affairs Minister
Pranab Mukherjee, who met Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye on Sunday.

 Mukherjee also met Gen Thura Shwe Mann, Prime Minister Gen Soe Win, and
Foreign Minister Nyan Win, along with several religious affairs and
planning ministers, press reports said.

Shwe Mann made specific requests for military hardware during his visit to
New Delhi last December. According to Mukherjee, Burma had requested
service and parts for its MiG fighter jets. He added, however, that since
the jets were supplied by Russia, prior consent from Moscow would be
required.

“We have examined that request and decided to give a favorable response,”
Mukherjee told reporters after the December meeting. “I told them that it
will be possible to supply them certain equipment so that defense
cooperation is expanded.”

Indian media reported that Mukherjee sought Burma’s continued support to
prevent Indian insurgents from taking refuge across the Burma border after
attacks against Indian interests. He also sought to expand overall
military cooperation between the two countries.

Among other measures discussed was the possibility of building a fence
along the more than 1,600-km border. Indian officials say that the porous
border allows insurgents to retreat after attacks in India. Burma has
repeatedly assured India that it will not allow Indian rebels to operate
on its soil.

Discussions between the two countries were also said to have focused on
ways to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector and on infrastructure
projects.

Relations between the regional neighbors have been strengthened in recent
years by increasing trade and economic cooperation. Reports emerged last
year about the transfer of Indian military hardware—T-55 tanks,
helicopters, mortars and radar technology, among other items—to Burma
ahead of major military operations against Indian insurgents in western
Burma.

In December last year, the Burmese military launched attacks against the
Naga rebel group, National Socialist Council of Nagaland, which seeks an
autonomous homeland in northeastern India. Several people have reportedly
been killed in the violence.

____________________________________

January 22, Irrawaddy
Burmese Workers Protests Double Taxation in Singapore - Shah Paung

Burmese workers in Singapore have started a campaign to protest the double
taxation of income paid to both the Burmese and Singapore governments.

Naing Moe Aung, a Burmese worker in Singapore and one of the campaign
organizers, said the Burmese group has launched an email campaign called
“Double Taxation Avoidance Movement,” in order to collect information from
Burmese workers who have paid a double tax on income. The information will
be turned over to the Singapore authorities.

 “Our question on this activity is whether the double taxation is
reasonable or not, rather than complaining about the tax amount,” Naing
Moe Aung said. “People are not happy with double taxation.”

Naing Moe Aung said that according to an agreement between Singapore and
Burma, Burmese workers are only required to pay income tax to the
Singapore government, but workers in Singapore now pay income tax to the
Burmese Embassy as well. The campaign group has translated a tax agreement
signed between the two governments, known as Article 26, into Burmese and
distributed it to the Burmese community in Singapore.

Naing Moe Aung said his group needs tax receipts showing that a Burmese
worker has paid income tax to the Burmese Embassy in Singapore and to the
Singapore government. He said he has sent his own tax records to Singapore
authorities as a test case. He estimated 10,000 Burmese workers in
Singapore have paid the double tax. There are about 50,000 Burmese living
in Singapore.

The lowest wage for Burmese workers in Singapore is 700 Singapore dollars
a month (US $455).

The tax protest campaign is based on a tax agreement between the Republic
of Singapore and the Union of Myanmar [Burma] titled “Avoidance of Double
Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on
Income.”

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 21, AP Via International Herald Tribune
Desmond Tutu "deeply disappointed" with South Africa's vote against U.N
Security Council resolution on Myanmar

Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has expressed his deep disappointment at South
Africa's vote to block a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end
to human rights abuses in Myanmar, saying it was a betrayal of his
country's "noble past."

The retired South African archbishop urged the Security Council to take
action against the military regime of the Southeast Asian country, also
called Burma, in a 2005 report written with fellow Nobel laureate and
former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

"I am deeply disappointed by our vote. It is a betrayal of our own noble
past. Many in the international community can hardly believe it. It is
inexplicable," Tutu said in an e-mail Saturday to The Associated Press.

In its first vote since it secured a non-permanent seat on the Security
Council last year, South Africa joined China and Russia in opposing the
resolution proposed by the United States and backed by Britain and France.

The vote in the Security Council on Jan. 12 was 9-3 in favor of the
resolution, with three abstentions. However, China and Russia cast a rare
double veto, which blocked the resolution's passage. South Africa does not
have veto power.

Deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said in a statement that while
South Africa was "deeply concerned at the situation in Myanmar," the
country's vote against the resolution had been technical.

He said Myanmar did not pose a threat to international peace and security
and was a matter best left to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Tutu, who turned 75 last year, presided over South Africa's Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, which heard harrowing testimony about
atrocities committed under apartheid.

Regarded as the conscience of South Africa, he has continued to speak up
on issues ranging from crime to AIDS to the war in Iraq and has not shied
away from criticizing leaders of the ruling African National Congress.

"If others had used the arguments we are using today when we asked them
for their support against apartheid, we might still have been unfree," he
said in the e-mail.

Tutu also expressed concern at the reaction to the vote, which has been
hailed by Myanmar regime as a victory.

"The tyrannical military regime is gloating, and we sided with them," he
said.

The opposition Democratic Alliance, also condemned South Africa for its
vote, saying it did not bode well for the country's tenure on the council.

"The fact remains that after fighting for two years to secure a
non-permanent seat on the Security Council, the very first opportunity
South Africa had to vote in favor of human rights and good governance and
against dictatorship, we chose the wrong side," lawmaker Douglas Gibson
said in a statement.

"We also chose to contradict our own Nobel Peace laureate, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, who has been at the forefront of the campaign for human
rights in Burma."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 22, Jakarta Post
Myanmar and democracy in our foreign policy - Rizal Sukma

How did we, as a nation, respond to a draft resolution at the UN Security
Council last week, urging Myanmar to democratize and respect human rights?
Well, we were not sure about the relevance and usefulness of such a
resolution, so we opted to abstain. We did not go for "yes" or "against",
the other two options available to us as a non-permanent member of the
Security Council.

Does that mean we have no opinion about the matter? Foreign Minister
Hassan Wirayuda explained that abstaining was not the same as having no
opinion. Indonesia, said Ambassador Reslan Jenie, the head of the
Indonesian Mission to the UN, did not object to the substance of the
proposed draft resolution.

In fact, Indonesia agreed that problems in Myanmar "inflict suffering on
the people of Myanmar and create problems for immediate neighbors."
Indonesia also said that "Myanmar must respond to the imperative of
restoring democracy and respect for human rights -- that is a matter of
principle."

What Indonesia objected to was the reason and procedure by which the draft
resolution was brought to the Security Council. We don't see the problem
of Myanmar as a threat to international security. If it is not a threat to
international security, than the issue does not fall within the mandate of
the Security Council. If so, why then should we say "yes" to such a
resolution? We, instead, were of the opinion that it would be better if
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional organization to
which Myanmar belongs, were given a chance to resolve the problem.

Fair enough. So far so good. However, the reality is not that simple.
First, Myanmar has not responded positively to any ASEAN initiative.
Myanmar has never been enthusiastic about ASEAN's goodwill. Worse, no one
can be sure whether Myanmar attaches great importance to ASEAN, let alone
to Indonesia. In fact, Myanmar does not seem to care much about the
outcome of the voting at the Security Council. So, if Myanmar has in the
past not responded positively to ASEAN, is there any reason to believe
that from now on it will?

The question is really: Does ASEAN matter to Myanmar? Of course it does,
but not in the way we want it to. Myanmar needs ASEAN to defend it.
Despite some grudges from some fellow ASEAN members, Myanmar understands
that ASEAN at the end will always come to its side. The recent ASEAN
Summit in Cebu and previous summits demonstrate that well. ASEAN leaders
cannot agree on what to do about the problem of Myanmar. In short, there
is no "ASEAN Myanmar Strategy."

Second, the proposed draft resolution was not merely about Myanmar. It was
also about us. Like it or not, in the eyes of the international community,
our response to the draft resolution on Myanmar will serve as an indicator
of the extent to which the new domestic norms -- democracy and human
rights -- enter our foreign policy considerations.

Unfortunately, our record on this front is mixed. On the one hand,
Indonesia has pledged to uphold democracy and human rights. In fact,
Minister Wirayuda has often said that democracy -- together with our image
as a moderate Muslim country -- is "an asset for our foreign policy." In
January 2005, he maintained that "we have to reflect democracy into our
region. That is why we are active in promoting democracy in ASEAN."
Indeed, it is Indonesia who has since 2003 insisted that ASEAN needs to
transform itself into a democratic entity.

However, there is a limit to the extent we can translate such declaratory
intent into policies. We do not have the leverage to support democracy
abroad. We are also not in the position to criticize electoral
manipulation in other countries. We have not condemned the entrenched
dictatorship in Myanmar or the military coup such as in Thailand. We have
not, and can not, put the promotion of democracy and human rights at the
top of the foreign policy agenda.

Indeed, despite the commitment and intentions of the Foreign Ministry to
project democratic values beyond our borders, such aspirations remain
elusive due to the state of the internal democratization process. In order
for foreign policy to fully unleash its potential, it is imperative that
Indonesia prove its democracy works well at home. And that task is not the
responsibility of the Foreign Ministry alone. It is the obligation of all
Indonesians. It requires genuine commitment from political leaders.

So, let us give the government the benefit of the doubt. To demonstrate
that we are truly committed to democracy, we should from now on take the
lead and play a more active role in resolving the Myanmar problem. That
would require a plan, a strategy, resource, and sustained political
commitment. Unfortunately, in this country we need to look hard to find
these ingredients.

The writer is deputy executive director of the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies.
____________________________________

January 29, India Today
PAFTA Anyone? - Raj Chengappa

Appearing cool and comfortable in a pearly-white barong tagalog shirt, the
traditional Filipino attire made of fruit fibre, Manmohan Singh looked
impeccable at the 12th ASEAN Summit in the island resort of Cebu. There
was plenty of reason for the prime minister to relax and soak in not just
the balmy weather and the Pacific blue, but also the warm reception
accorded to him by leaders of one of the world's most powerful trading
blocs.

Outside, Cebu's streets were festooned with colourful paper lamps and
jammed with children practising for the approaching Sinulog celebrations,
considered the mother of all festivals by local Filipinos. Its most famous
dance-the sulog-requires taking one step forward and two steps back, in a
replication of the heaving Pahina River that cuts through Cebu. Progress
through the streets is, therefore, agonisingly slow.

For decades, India enacted something akin to sulog in its ties with the 10
countries that make up ASEAN. While China and Japan, and more recently
South Korea, made deep inroads in trade with ASEAN, India inexplicably
took more steps backward than forward despite the natural advantage of
sharing age-old cultural and trade ties with a region European
colonialists quaintly termed as "Farther India". It had prompted
Rabindranath Tagore on a visit to Indonesia to observe: "I see India
everywhere but nowhere."

It was not until 1991, when prime minister Narasimha Rao enunciated
India's new "Look East" policy, that a great degree of clarity, coherence
and progress was achieved in Delhi's relations with South-east Asian
nations. As the then finance minister, Manmohan had acknowledged ASEAN was
not just the gateway to trade for the region but "a strategic shift in
India's vision of the world". That policy proved so successful that
India-ASEAN trade burgeoned from $2.4 billion (Rs 10,575 crore) in 1990 to
$23 billion (Rs 1,01,370 crore) in 2005. This year, that figure is
expected to cross the $30 billion (Rs 1,32,225 crore) target set in 2004.

At Cebu, rising India-and not just China-was the new big story. With a
$700-billion (Rs 30,85,250 crore) economy that is growing at 7 to 8 per
cent every year and a sizeable middle-class, India is today regarded by
ASEAN countries as a major engine for growth in the region. Proof lay in
the hectic parleys held at the summit to work out an India-ASEAN Free
Trade Agreement (IAFTA) in goods. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who was
present in Cebu, emphasised to his counterparts that any agreement would
have to be "a win-win situation" for all the countries.

By the end of the summit, the modalities of how to proceed on the IAFTA
had been drawn and endorsed. It was decided to complete all related
discussions by July. The two sides also agreed to prepare a list of
products segregating sensitive and highly sensitive items, with the least
cuts in duties for four items in the latter category-crude palm oil,
refined palm oil, pepper and tea.
Such was the urgency of ASEAN countries to engage with India that much of
the initiative to boost relations came from them. ASEAN had admitted India
as a full-dialogue partner in 1995, without too much prodding from Delhi.
Part of the reason was the concern plaguing ASEAN members of becoming an
'adjunct' to the Chinese economy. India was seen as a balancing force or,
as Singapore put it, "the second wing" for the ASEAN jumbo jet.

Meanwhile, in a bid to thwart Pakistan's policy of holding SAARC
negotiations hostage to the Kashmir issue, India in 1997 worked out a
subregional arrangement for economic cooperation with Bangladesh, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka and Thailand. Popularly known as BIMSTEC, the organisation was
recently renamed the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
and Economic Cooperation.

In 2000, at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, India also entered into an
agreement with Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam for the
Mekong Ganga Cooperation project to promote greater transport
connectivity. The dream was to build a South-east Asian highway linking
Delhi with Hanoi. But despite the huge strides India has made in its
relations with ASEAN countries, it's nowhere in the same league as China.
Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai points out that the China-ASEAN trade,
pegged at $100 billion (Rs 4,40,750 crore), is still five times that of
India's with the trade bloc.

What Manmohan has been pushing for is a Pan-Asian Free Trade Agreement
(PAFTA) which, he says, could "be the future of Asia". Tabled by him at
the first East Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, PAFTA is looked upon
as the centrepiece of India's evolving "Look East" policy. At the second
East Asian Summit held simultaneously in Cebu, energy security of the
region hogged the limelight. But India also pushed the larger vision of an
overarching Asia-wide scheme of economic integration to fully exploit the
synergies in the region, much as the EU does in Europe. (Apart from the 10
ASEAN countries, its four dialogue partners Japan, India, China and South
Korea participated in the summit along with Australia and New Zealand.)

Already experts are describing the East Asian trade bloc, which combines
14 of the largest and fastest growing economies, as the "potential third
pole of the world". Between them, the East Asian countries have three
billion-or half the world's population. In purchasing power parity, the
East Asian group of nations has a gross national income of over $16
trillion (Rs 7,05,20,000 crore)-much larger than either the EU or the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) group. The value of exports
from East Asia, in fact, exceeds that of NAFTA. As Philippines President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told leaders at Cebu, "The prospect for the region
becoming a formidable bloc in the world is well within our reach. From one
caring and sharing community, we can become a dynamo as the hub and core
of East Asia, immersed in robust, open trade from within the region and
across the oceans-building security and prosperity in millions of
communities, from the East to the West."

In a sharp contrast to the emerging East Asian grouping is India's
struggle to improve trade ties with its immediate neighbours under the
auspices of SAARC. While Pranab Mukherjee has been visiting neighbouring
countries, inviting heads of state for the SAARC Summit in April, major
economic and political differences persist and it could be years before
SAFTA takes off. Till that happens, PAFTA anyone?