1st Edition
BIMSTEC Mapping Sub-Regionalism in Asia
This volume is a comprehensive study of the challenges and opportunities facing the BIMSTEC, The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. BIMSTEC was established to promote economic cooperation among rising economic powers in South and Southeast Asia, but after years of stagnation the need for renewed regional commitment is starker than ever.
The book studies the BIMSTEC’s present status and highlights the ways in which the organisation can be rejuvenated to forge a stronger Bay of Bengal community. It looks at key themes such as the challenges to regional integration, India’s "Look East" and Thailand’s "Look West" policies, transport connectivity and tourism within the BIMSTEC and the aspirations of various member countries. It also examines BIMSTEC’s approach towards climate change, disaster management and rehabilitation.
A timely contribution, this volume will be useful for scholars and researchers of international relations, South Asian studies, foreign policy, diplomacy, Southeast Asian studies, defence and strategic affairs, maritime studies, international trade, regional cooperation and political studies.
Introduction
Adluri Subramanyam Raju & Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury
Part-1: BIMSTEC: Background
1. BIMSTEC: Beyond Nationalism and National Interest
R. Srinivasan
Part-2: BIMSTEC as a Sub Regional Grouping: Member Countries’ Perspectives
2. India’s Approach towards BIMSTEC: A new hope for regional economic cooperation
Naresh Subba
3. Strengthening Strategic Convergences within BIMSTEC: A case study of India-Thailand Cooperation
Ritika V. Kapoor
4. Myanmar’s role in BIMSTEC: Assessing Prospects and Challenges
Sreeparna Banerjee
5. Myanmar Media, State Prerogatives and the BIMSTEC Narrative
Soe Myint
6. India’s Role in BIMSTEC through Transport Connectivity and Tourism
Udita Banerjee
7. BIMSTEC and its Relevance to the Land-locked Countries
Purushottam Ojha
8. BIMSTEC: A Gateway for Bhutan
Sita Chamlagai
9. Gazing at the BIMSTEC through the pandemics: A view from Bangladesh
Amena Mohsin & Mohammad Atique Rahman
10. Punching above the Weight?: Role of Sri Lanka in BIMSTEC
N. Manoharan
Part-3: Cooperation in the Field of Disaster Management
11. Managing Natural Disasters: BIMSTEC Cooperation
P.V. Rao
12. HADR across the Bay: Evaluation of India’s role in BIMSTEC
Sohini Bose
13. BIMSTEC: Disaster Management as a tool for Regional Cooperation
Rashmi B. R.
14. Bay of Bengal: Situating Post-Colonial Imagination and Climate Change
Udayan Das
Biography
Adluri Subramanyam Raju is Dean of International Relations; Professor and the head of UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asia Regional Cooperation (UMISARC) and Centre for South Asian Studies; Coordinator of the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Madanjeet Singh Chair and UGC Centre for Maritime Studies, Pondicherry University, India. He was recipient of the Mahbub Ul Haq Award (Regional Centre for Strategic Studies [RCSS], Colombo, 2003), Scholar of Peace Award (WISCOMP, New Delhi, 2002) and Kodikara Award (RCSS, Colombo, 1998). He was Salzburg Seminar Fellow (2006). He received the National Best Teacher Award (C.V.S. Krishnamurthy Theja Charities, Tirupati, 2017) and Best Teacher Award twice (Pondicherry University, 2013 and 2018). He was Visiting Fellow at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, Colombo, May 2012. He was a member of the Third Task Force on Blue Economy, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), New Delhi. He is an Honorary Adjunct Fellow at National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi. He is on the editorial board for seven journals. He published 52 articles and 25 books (including edited volumes).
Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury, is Senior Fellow with the Neighbourhood Initiative of Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata Chapter. She is the coordinator of the research project, "Proximity to Connectivity." She specialises in South Asia, refugees, forced migration and women in conflict zones. She is the recipient of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust Senior Media Fellowship (2007), and the Kodikara Award from the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo, in 1998–1999. Anasua was also ICSSR Post-Doctoral Fellow (2004–2006) at the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi, and Visiting Fellow at the Maison des Sciences de I’Homme, Paris. Her recent publications include India–Myanmar Borderlands: Ethnicity, Security and Connectivity (co-edited, 2020), Connecting Nations: India and Southeast Asia (co-edited, 2019), State of Being Stateless (co-edited, 2015) and Women in Indian Borderlands (co-edited, 2011).
