Trade Relations Between India and ASEAN

GS Paper II International Relations

Context:

China’s growing trading relationships with ASEAN nations has propelled it far ahead of India in Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
The 10 member states of ASEAN are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Historically, Southeast Asia has been closer to India.
- Out of the 10 countries, nine have an Indic base. Only one has a Sinic base, which is Vietnam.

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ASEAN Trade in Goods by Trading Partners
Country	In 2020 (in million US$)	In 2021 (in million US$)
India	65,711	91,552
China	518,617	669,200

Top Goods Exported from ASEAN to India in 2021: Animal or vegetable fats, oils and products (14.7%), Electrical machinery, equipment and their parts (14.4%), Mineral fuels, oils and products of their distillation (12.5), Nuclear reactors, machinery and mechanical appliances (9.8%), Plastics and articles (6.1%), Organic chemicals (5.7%) etc.
Top Goods Imported to ASEAN from India in 2021: Mineral fuels, oils and products of their distillation (16.2%), Iron and steel (10.3%), Nuclear reactors, machinery and mechanical appliances (7.7%), Pearls, precious metals and stones (7.4%), Organic chemicals (5.6%), Pharmaceutical products (3.8%), Vehicles and accessories (3.7%) etc.

News Source: Mint

Prelims Question (2015)

The ‘Fortaleza Declaration’, recently in the news, is related to the affairs of

(a) ASEAN

(b) BRICS

(d) WTO

Ans: (b)