India has a greater role in regional dynamics, says Asia Society’s new president

NEW DELHI :India has evolved to become a growth engine for the Asian region, also enjoying a strong diplomatic position that has key powers courting the country, said Kang Kyung-wha, former South Korean foreign minister, in an interview with Mint.

The newly appointed president of US-based think tank Asia Society also spoke on the state of India-Korea ties, tensions between the US and China, and navigating an increasingly challenging region.

Kang also laid out her plans for the Asia Society, including deeper engagement with India. Edited excerpts:

How do you see the state of Asia today?

The gravity of global affairs, whether it’s economics or politics, is slowly, but surely, moving towards Asia. Asia will be the centre, and what happens in Asia will very much influence what happens to the rest of the world.

The Asia Society, which has always had its focus on Asia and on enhancing understanding and bridge-building, has a very important role to play here. Today, the US-China bilateral relationship is the big contest. What happens there will be very decisive for what happens to the rest of the region.

For many years, we’ve seen the tension and rivalry rising between these two big powers. But I think since the summit of last year, between Mr. Xi (Chinese president Xi Jinping) and (US president) Mr. (Joe) Biden, both sides have been trying to temper down that tension.

There will continue to be competition. But the desire on both sides to manage this in a constructive fashion is good news to all countries in the region.

We will also watch what happens with the US elections closely, which will have huge repercussions.

(Also), I think India is the growth engine currently. It is the fastest-growing economy with a lot more potential there, but it’s also diplomatically in a very sweet spot. All countries are courting India. And I think India has a greater role and greater space to have a voice in steering regional dynamics, and we very much hope that this voice will be exercised in a way that strengthens stability and manages the divisiveness and confrontational dynamics in the region.

Closer to home here in Northeast Asia, the continuing provocation and upgrading of North Korea’s missiles and nuclear capability is a huge security threat, but not just in this region. It’s a global security threat, which is why it’s been on the (UN) Security Council agenda and under heavy sanctions for so many years.

In light of that growing threat, there has to be solid deterrence through the US-Korea alliance, and closer security collaboration between the United States, Korea and Japan is necessary because of the threat levels. But we also really need to find a way to restart engagement with North Korea.

Do you think the US and China are capable of dialogue and compromise?

As a career diplomat, I have to believe that the will exists on both sides to do this. Perhaps the domestic politics in both countries makes that very difficult. Even so, we see that dialogue is very viable since the Xi-Biden summit took place last year.

I very much hope that this continues to build. It’s important for them to send the message that the two sides are working closely together, and that reassures other countries around the world.

As South Korea’s foreign minister, you tried to build a closer relationship with India. How do you see countries like South Korea and India working together in an increasingly unstable region?

India was a key partner in our New Southern Policy and there was excellent summit-level engagement. I think that will continue just out of sheer national interest. I believe these key bilateral relationships are very important in mitigating the great power rivalry that is so dominant in terms of the regional context.

So I would like to see the bilateral relationship between the (Republic of Korea) and India strengthening for its own good, but also having a much more strategic dimension to it, that reads the regional dynamics together and that finds a way to work towards strengthening the space for peace, compromise and reducing the confrontational dynamics that we find often in the power relations.

What are your plans as the new president of the Asia Society?

In the midst of all these geopolitical challenges, we don’t presume to have all the answers at Asia Society. But we do have a unique set of tools. We have research capacity on the policy front that could lead to recommendations. We also have a very rich history of using our arts and cultural exchanges capacity and educational capacity to strengthen people-to-people as well as government-to-government exchanges.

So as the new president of the Asia Society, I would like to utilise the full set of tools that Asia Society has to create a momentum for dialogue and the management of difficult issues in these very challenging times.

Asia is a huge region and very diverse, and I don’t think the work of our organisation reflects that diversity to the fullest. I would like to see more of the Asean region registered in our work.

India is key. India’s growing might, both economically and politically, is very important for Asia Society to appreciate and also to engage. I would like to see our engagement with India deepened.