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China's shadow falls between India and Asean. It shouldn't

China's shadow falls between India and Asean. It shouldn't

Straits Times5 days ago
Find out what's new on ST website and app.
Amid a changing regional order, India and Asean should not fritter away the gains of the last three decades.
The trajectory of incremental expansion of bilateral engagement between India and Asean now confronts some turbulence, says the writer.
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's reported remarks last month – that some Asean member states are 'China's B team' – underscore the strategic divergence between India and Asean amid a rapidly changing regional order.
Mr Goyal, who was speaking at the India Global Forum on June 19, made the comments in the context of the review of India's free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean.
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