HPAS/Allied Mains 2022 Answer Writing Challenge Day 21: Model Answer

Question: Discuss the relevance of BIMSTEC as a regional organisation to fulfil India’s strategic aspirations in the Indian Ocean Region. (8 Marks)

Answer: 

Discuss	Discuss’ question words typically require an in-depth answer that takes into account all aspects of the debate concerning the topic. You must demonstrate reasoning skills with this type of question, by using evidence to make a case for or against a research topic/argument.
Introduction	Give a brief overview about BIMSTEC
Body	Discuss the relevance of BIMSTEC to fulfil India’s strategic aspirations in the Indian Ocean Region.
Conclusion	Conclude accordingly

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an inter-regional grouping that seeks to foster regional and economic cooperation among its 7 member nations in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal i.e. India, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

BIMSTEC, as a regional organisation aspires to fulfil India’s strategic aspirations in the Indian Ocean Region in the following ways:

• Expanding its engagement: BIMSTEC is key to India’s strategic aspirations to cater to the wider concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ and an Indian Ocean community. The grouping brings together India’s strategic peripheries (South, East and North). Also, as China mounts assertive activities in the region, it is in India’s interest to consolidate its engagement amongst the BIMSTEC countries.
• Economic growth: Growth and development in India’s Eastern coastal states and the North-Eastern region hinge upon the degree of connectivity with the South-East Asian markets.
•  The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world and is the route for about
  25 percent of global trade. The Bay also has huge reserves of natural gas, which is an untapped source of energy.
• Regional cooperation: Due to setbacks to the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), BIMSTEC has emerged as the “preferred platform” for regional cooperation in South Asia.
  o BIMSTEC seeks to act as a bridge between South and South-East Asia, making it a natural forum to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’.
• Security: The Bay of Bengal has enormous significance from the security point of view in the Indian Ocean region, as it borders the Strait of Malacca which is the main energy lane for the eastern and South-East Asian nations. India is expected to steer the security pillar of BIMSTEC and coordinate region-wide on jointly agreed issues in this regard, thus further propagating its idea of being a net security provider in the region.

Further measures are needed in the following areas to make BIMSTEC an even more effective regional organisation, such as:

• Strengthening political engagement: Personal engagement of the political leadership in the organisation should be stepped up. The recent decision taken in Colombo to host a summit every two years is a welcome step.
• Enhancing connections and connectivity: This can be done by encouraging people-to-people contacts and simultaneously accelerating work on the multilateral connectivity projects that have already been initiated.
• Community-based deliberations: BIMSTEC should adopt an approach that involves negotiations, regular meetings and free and fair discussions. Community-based deliberations will help foster a closer relationship amongst the member states and enhance mutual trust.

BIMSTEC has evolved as a distinctive regional organization with increased membership, expanded mandate, formal institutional arrangements and norms, while retaining its unique character as a bridge between South and South-East Asia. Its success is imperative for growth and development in the region