Q. India is a member of which of the following?

  1. Asia-Pacific economic corporation.
  2. Association of South-East Asian Nations.
  3. East Asia Summit

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2, and 3
(d) India is a member of none of them

Answer: (b) 3 only

Notes:
  • India is a member of the East Asia Summit.
  • India is a member of ASEAN+6, not the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
  • India is also not a member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC).
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC)
  • The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim.
  • APEC started in 1989, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.
  • It aims to promote free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region
  • It aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.
  • APEC is headquartered in Singapore.
  • APEC’s 21 member economies are Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Vietnam.
  • The criterion for membership, however, is that each member must be an independent economic entity, rather than a sovereign state.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Significance of APEC:

  • Since its formation, the grouping championed the lowering of trade tariffs, free trade, and economic liberalisation.
  • As per the US State Department, during its first five years of operation, APEC established its core objectives.
  • In the Seoul Declaration (1991), APEC member economies proclaimed the creation of a liberalised free trade area around the Pacific Rim as the principal objective of the organisation.
  • APEC accounts for nearly 62 per cent of global GDP and nearly half of global trade.

India’s Willingness to Join the APEC Grouping:

  • India, which presently has ‘observer’ status, has been very keen to join the economic grouping as a full member.
    • India has expressed interest in joining APEC, and made a formal request in 1991.
    • The request to join was based on India’s geographical location, the potential size of the economy, and degree of trade interaction with the Asia-Pacific.
  • India Needs APEC because
    • Strength of the grouping – The grouping represents more than a third of the world population, 47% of global trade and 60% of world GDP.
    • Aspiration of India – India aspires to become a $5 trillion economy and requires $1 trillion for investment in infrastructure.
      • Outside the west Europe, most of the capital surplus nations are in Asia Pacific which can quench India’s thirst for investment.
    • Natural Corollary to “Act East” Policy – Indian has already become a member of SCO. Joining APEC is a natural corollary to Act East Policy of India.

Why is India not a Part of the APEC Grouping?

  • Although many members have been in favour of the inclusion of India, some opposed the idea citing the economic reforms which took place in the country and claiming that it has ‘protectionist instincts’.
    • APEC’s guiding motive was to resist protectionist policies by individual member states, and the promotion of trade liberalisation and economic cooperation within the affiliated Asia-Pacific economies.
    • By that description, India did not seem to fit in.
  • The main impediment, apparently, has been the opposition of some participants who have held India’s record on economic reforms and WTO engagement to be unsatisfactory and unworthy of meriting inclusion as a member in the grouping.
  • Another reason for not making India part of the grouping was a membership freeze which came into force in 1997.  However, it was not extended in 2012.
  • There has been a renewed push to grant membership status to India.
  • A majority of members now believe that India must be brought into the fold for it has shown progress in reforming and liberalising its economy.
  • Granting India membership status may also act as a catalyst for trade reform among emerging economies.
  • Moreover, India’s maritime strength and strong strategic relations with the region’s major powers, member states point out, could be used to bring strategic balance within the grouping.
Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
  • The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia.
  • The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established in 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
  • The ASEAN promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia.
  • The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.
  • Secretariat: ASEAN Secretariat is located in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • ASEAN countries have a total population of 662 million people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.2 trillion as of 2022.
  • Fundamental principles of ASEAN are:
    • Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations.
    • The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion, or coercion.
    • Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another.
    • Settlement of differences or disputes in a peaceful manner.
    • Renunciation of the threat or use of force.
    • Effective cooperation among themselves.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
East Asia Summit (EAS)
  • The East Asia Summit (EAS) established in 2005 is a forum of 18 regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the key political, security, and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
  • The EAS is the only leader-led forum in the Indo-Pacific that brings together all key partners to discuss political, security and economic issues of strategic importance.
  • The EAS operates on the principles of openness, inclusiveness, respect for international law, ASEAN centrality, and ASEAN’s role as the driving force.
  • The idea of an East Asia Grouping was first proposed by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1991.
    • The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.
  • The EAS comprises the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – along with 8 members Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
East Asia Summit (EAS)

Q. Consider the following countries

  1. China
  2. France
  3. India
  4. Israel
  5. Pakistan

Which among the above are Nuclear Weapons States as recognized by the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only
(c) 2, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT:
  • The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
  • As of August 2016, 191 states have become parties to the treaty, though North Korea, which acceded in 1985 but never came into compliance, announced its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003, following detonation of nuclear devices in violation of core obligations.
  • Four UN member states have never accepted the NPT, three of which possess or are thought to possess nuclear weapons: India, Israel, and Pakistan. In addition, South Sudan, founded in 2011, has not joined.
  • The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before 1 January 1967; these are the United States (1945), Russia (1949), the United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), and China (1964).
  • Four other states are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan, and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel is deliberately ambiguous regarding its nuclear weapons status.

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

(a) ASEAN

(b) BRICS

(c) OECD

(d) WTO

Answer: (b) BRICS

Notes:
  • During the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014) the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).
  • Fortaleza Declaration stressed that the NDB will strengthen cooperation among BRICS and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development thus contributing to sustainable and balanced growth.
  • NDB’s key areas of operation are clean energy, transport infrastructure, irrigation, sustainable urban development and economic cooperation among the member countries.
  • The NDB functions on a consultative mechanism among the BRICS members with all the member countries possessing equal rights.

Q. Amnesty International is

(a) an agency of the United Nations to help refugees of civil wars

(b) a global Human Rights Movement

(c) a non-governmental voluntary organization to help very poor people

(d) an inter-governmental agency to cater to medical emergencies in war-ravaged regions

Answer: (b) a global Human Rights Movement

Notes:
  • Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organisation focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom.
  • The organisation says it has more than ten million members and supporters around the world.
  • The stated mission of the organisation is to campaign for “a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.”
  • The organisation has played a notable role on human rights issues due to its frequent citation in media and by world leaders.
  • The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for its “Defence of human dignity against torture” and the United Nations Prize in the field of Human Rights in 1978.

Q. In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/participants?

  1. Bangladesh
  2. Cambodia
  3. China
  4. Myanmar
  5. Thailand

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 5

Answer: (c) 1 and 3

Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC):
  • MGC is an initiative by six countries for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications.
  • It was launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR.
  • Both the Ganga and the Mekong are civilizational rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river basins. 
  • The MGC is also indicative of the cultural and commercial linkages among the member countries of the MGC down the centuries.
  • The MGC meetings are co-chaired alternatively every year between India and one of the 5 Mekong countries.
  • Members
    • India and five ASEAN countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • Objectives
    • Promoting economic cooperation and trade among member countries, 
    • Enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and 
    • Fostering dialogue and cooperation on issues of common interest
  • Areas of cooperation
    • The four foundational areas of cooperation under MGC include tourism, culture, education, and transport & communication. 
    • It has further expanded to include new areas like health and traditional medicine, agriculture and allied sectors, small and medium enterprises, water resources management, science and technology, skill development, and capacity building.
Mekong–Ganga Cooperation

Q. ‘Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’ often seen in the news, is

(a) a strategy to tackle the regional terrorism, an outcome of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

(b) a plan of action for sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific Region, an outcome of deliberations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum

(c) an agenda for women’s empowerment, an outcome of a World Conference convened by the United Nations

(d) a strategy to combat wildlife trafficking, a declaration of the East Asia Summit

Answer: (c) an agenda for women’s empowerment, an outcome of a World Conference convened by the United Nations

Notes:
  • The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted unanimously by 189 countries at the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
  • It recognizes women’s rights as human rights and sets out a comprehensive roadmap for achieving equality between women and men.
  • It aims at accelerating the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and at removing all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.
  • The Platform for Action is an agenda for women’s empowerment.
World Conferences on Women
  • The United Nations has organized four world conferences on women. These took place in Mexico City in 1975, Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995. The last was followed by a series of five-year reviews.
  • The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing marked a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality.
  • The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted unanimously by 189 countries, is an agenda for women’s empowerment and considered the key global policy document on gender equality.
  • It sets strategic objectives and actions for the advancement of women and the achievement of gender equality in 12 critical areas of concern:
    • Women and poverty
    • Education and training of women
    • Women and health
    • Violence against women
    • Women and armed conflict
    • Women and the economy
    • Women in power and decision-making
    • Institutional mechanism for the advancement of women
    • Human rights of women
    • Women and the media
    • Women and the environment
    • The girl-child

Q. With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)’,

Consider the following statements:

  1. It was established very recently in response to incidents of piracy and accidents of oil spills.
  2. It is an alliance meant for maritime security only.

Which of the following statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Indian Ocean Rim Association:
  • Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an intergovernmental organisation established to promote economic cooperation and regional integration among countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
  • IORA member states work on various initiatives related to trade, investment, and sustainable development in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).
  • The Indian Ocean Rim Association was established on 7 March 1997.
    • The vision for IORA originated during a visit by late President Nelson Mandela of South Africa to India in 1995.
Members of IORA
  • Membership is open to all sovereign states of the Indian Ocean Rim willing to subscribe to the principles and objectives of the Charter.
    • Current 23 Member States:
      • Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, France/Reunion, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia,South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
    • Dialogue Partners:
      • China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
    • Specialized Agencies:
      • The Regional Centre for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT) based in Tehran, Iran.
      • The Fisheries Support Unit (FSU) based in Muscat, Oman.
    • Two Observers:
      • The Indian Ocean Research Group (IORG)
      • The Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA)
Indian Ocean Rim Association
Major Objectives of IORA:
  • The objectives of the Association are underpinned by the principle of open regionalism as below:
    • To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and Member States.
    • To focus on those areas of economic co-operation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits.
    • To promote liberalization, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean Rim.