This Word Means: BIMSTEC

On a day when US President Donald Trump unleashed a wave of tariffs on countries across the world, Jaishankar emphasised the need for self-sufficiency and diversification among nations. “The reality is that the world is moving to an era of self-help. Every region needs to look out for itself, whether it is in food, fuel and fertilizer supply, vaccines or speedy disaster response,” he said.

“We are seeing that unfold before our very eyes… Shorter supply chains and immediate neighbours have a salience much more than before,” he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will later oversee the signing of the Agreement on Maritime Cooperation at the 6th BIMSTEC summit, along with other members of the grouping.

WHAT IS BIMSTEC?

BIMSTEC includes countries of the Bay of Bengal region and seeks to act as a bridge between South and Southeast Asia. Originally formed as BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) in 1997, it became BIMST-EC after Myanmar joined, and BIMSTEC in 2004 with Nepal and Bhutan.

The grouping was largely ignored until India gave it a renewed push in October 2016, a month after the terrorist attack in Uri. Alongside the BRICS summit in Goa, India hosted an outreach summit with BIMSTEC leaders. Weeks earlier, some of these countries had supported New Delhi’s call for a boycott of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled in Islamabad that November.

WHAT IS THE AIM BEHIND BIMSTEC?

For one, it provides a common platform for countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia at a time when the SAARC is more or less defunct. While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is seen as one of more cohesive groupings in the world, the lack of forward movement in the fraught India-Pakistan relationship has left few options for South Asian countries. Landlocked countries, Nepal and Bhutan, may also benefit from access to the Bay of Bengal as a result of better ties with BIMSTEC countries.

China is another key part of the equation. It has undertaken a massive drive to finance and build infrastructure in South and Southeast Asia through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the last decade, in almost all BIMSTEC countries except Bhutan and India.

BIMSTEC could allow India to push a constructive agenda to counter Chinese investments, and the Bay of Bengal can be showcased as open and peaceful, contrasting with China’s behaviour in the South China Sea.

But there are challenges. C Raja Mohan, contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express, pointed to the ongoing disputes between Bangladesh and Myanmar, and tensions between Delhi and Dhaka following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. With the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, the country’s potential as a land bridge between South and Southeast Asia is also diminished. Though the grouping may not see major breakthroughs soon, “unlike SAARC, which never truly sailed, BIMSTEC is a slow boat advancing toward greater engagement,” he wrote.