(September 16-30, 2016)
Indo – Pacific
Sino-Russian Naval Exercises in the South China Sea
China and Russia carried out an eight-day naval exercise in the South China Sea, off the coast of southern China's Guangdong Province, from 12 – 19 Sep 16. According to the Chinese defence spokesperson Liang Yang, these exercises were part of an annual program, which aims to consolidate and advance the Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, and deepen friendly and practical cooperation between the two militaries,. The exercise featured surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters marine corps and amphibious armored equipment from both navies. Most of the Chinese participants were drawn from the Nanhai Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). During the exercise, the Chinese and Russian navies also conducted a mission to seize an island. The exercise demonstrated the Chinese and Russian navies' capacities in command management, telecommunications coordination, and intelligence and information sharing, according to Senior Captain Li Xiangdong, who commanded one of the Chinese warships.
The Sino-Russian naval exercises were not the first of their kind with similar ones having been conducted in the past in various areas, from the Sea of Japan to the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea as also in the Mediterranean. However, this was the first time they were conducted in the South China Sea. This assumes importance, especially in the context of the recent award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the ongoing disputes in the area. The mission involving seizing of islands was obviously intended towards bolstering this aspect of Chinese naval capability as the PLAN goes about its modernisation. These naval exercises are not an isolated aspect in the Sino-Russian relationship but are part of a growing phenomenon where the Russian military has also parted with a lot of its technology which has, in turn, provided the impetus to China’s military modernisation. This increasing proximity of Russia with China has been accelerated by the continuing attempts at its isolation by the US. While these developments may not have a direct implication on the Indo-Russian relationship, it may have an effect in Russia’s perception of Pakistan, a Chinese acolyte, as a potential arms market which could be detrimental to India’s interests.
ASEAN
Japan Vietnam Economic Partnership
The Vietnam enacted new set of import tariff as a part of its Economic Partnership Agreement with the Japan (VJEPA) for the year 2016-2019. For the implementation of VJEPA, the import duty rate table would be applied in phases. This will benefit the beauty products industry of Japan because reduction in duties. Tax rates for clothes and accessories for children have also been reduced. Several goods such as vitamin, weed killers and emergency aid toolkits will continue to enjoy a zero per cent import tax rate. Special treatment is also given to Vietnam, in case goods listed under the tariff are imported from non-tariff zones into the domestic market. It is first bilateral free trade agreement signed by Vietnam after its formal association with the World Trade Organisation in January 2007. The bilateral free trade agreement covers comprehensive contents encompassing trade in goods and services, investment and improvement of the business environment. The VJEPA came into reality in October 2009, where Vietnam committed to eliminate some 90.6 per cent of tariff lines for Japan within 16 years, while Japan pledged to eliminate some 94 per cent of tariff lines for Vietnam within 10 years. Decrees carrying new tariffs for several other trade deals, including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and an agreement between Vietnam and Laos, have also come into force this month. New tariffs for ASEAN-India, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand, ASEAN-China and ASEAN-South Korea trade deals are also available.
ASEAN and its Efforts to Streamline Trade Barriers
Trade facilitation is the core objective of the overall international mechanism developed by the ASEAN states which is expected to streamline and simplify the trade procedures across countries. In the last decade, as ASEAN countries eliminated or reduced trade tariffs under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga), international trade has expanded. ASEAN countries have several commitments in order to facilitate trade in the region which encompasses customs modernisation, adoption of international best practices for uniform tariff classification, Customs valuation and origin determination, enhancement of Customs efficiency, and the setting up of the ASEAN Trade Facilitation Repository and ASEAN Single Window. The last two components follow on from the National Trade Repository - a one-stop online system to provide information on trade laws and procedures - and the National Single Window, which allows for single submission of data, synchronous processing of data and single decision-making for Customs clearance of cargo. To deliver on its promises and to encourage intra-regional trade, the 28-29th ASEAN Summit launched two key initiatives to advance the trade facilitation initiatives. These were:
- The ASEAN Tariff Finder (ATF), an online search engine for tariff-related information for Atiga and ASEAN+1 free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Australia-New Zealand, India, Japan and South Korea; and
- The ASEAN Solutions for Investment, Services and Trade (Assist), an online trade facilitation tool which promises to deliver practical solutions to ASEAN -based enterprises for specific intra- ASEAN cross-border trade problems. Both Web-based platforms can be accessed free of charge and are part of the ASEAN Trade Repository.
However, there is a view that these measures appear to be inadequate. At present, the ATF provides tariff information on all ASEAN -related FTAs, but not on how these can complement bilateral, and other regional and multilateral agreements.
ASEAN-India Promotional Chapter for Tourism
India launched its Visit ASEAN @50 to celebration that endorses ASEAN as a single and collective tourism destination to the Indian audience. ASEAN will complete 50 years of existence in 2017 and the campaign is in commemoration of the golden jubilee of the association. Based on UN WTO records the South East Asia has recorded 5 per cent record growth in international tourist arrivals in 2015 which is more than the average worldwide growth of 4%. South East Asia has always been an attractive destination for Indians. In fact, India has consistently been one of the top 10 tourist generating markets to this region. Providing greater accessibility between India and ASEAN states is a key to the success of tourism. Tourism accounts for roughly 4.6% of ASEAN GDP. Visit ASEAN @ 50 campaign hopes to attract more than 121 million tourist arrivals to the region and increase tourism receipts to USD 83 billion. Last year the ASEAN region saw close to 109 million visitors with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, being the top 5 visited countries.
