A ROBUST Malaysia-India partnership is crucial not only for the two countries bilaterally, on diplomatic and trade fronts but also for their peoples and for the common long-term vision that Delhi and Putrajaya share for the region.
Malaysia's crucial position in Southeast Asian strategic dynamics is notable, as it navigates its roles within Asean and its complex relationship with China and the US.
Malaysia will take on the pivotal role of chairing Asean in 2025, which carries significant responsibility and potential.
Its leadership as one of the founding Asean members is vital amidst various challenges faced by the region, including geopolitical tensions, Myanmar crisis, issues concerning greater regional economic integration, and the looming environmental crisis.
Malaysia's ability to foster inclusive discussions and consensus among Asean members and with its dialogue partners will be essential for maintaining Asean's normative agency, convening power, and collective influence in shaping the regional discourse and order.
India is on the same page with Malaysia on many of these issues as it has been both a staunch advocate of the "Global South", and a votary of keeping the region peaceful, inclusive and away from the vagaries of superpower competition.
India's partnership with Malaysia and the Asean region aligns with its Act East Policy, by promoting maritime connectivity in the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea and supporting the AOIP (Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific). India's IPOI (Indo-Pacific Oceans' Initiative) and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiatives complement Asean's regional agenda.
Malaysia's support to India on these initiatives paves the way for greater cooperation between the two democracies. The upcoming official visit of the Indian Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar to Malaysia is only timely to boost ties between the two countries.
India has actively promoted a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, as highlighted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision as outlined during the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore in June 2018.
India's Indo-Pacific strategy emphasises inclusivity, openness, Asean centrality and unity, in shaping meaningful dialogues and cooperation in the region.
Since Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim assumed office as Malaysia's prime minister in November 2022, there has been an upswing in exchange of bilateral visits, highlighting a shared commitment to address bilateral and regional matters through meaningful consultations.
The transition to a comprehensive strategic partnership underscores the growing importance of this relationship as manifested in recent initiatives such as the Malaysia India Digital Council, India-Malaysia Start-up Bridge, and India-Malaysia Annual Energy Dialogue.
Malaysia is home to one of the world's largest Indian diaspora, playing a significant role in facilitating economic networks and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Around 2.77 million individuals of Indian descent account for approximately 8.5 per cent of the Malaysian population.
Additionally, about 140,000 Indian immigrants live in Malaysia, including professionals and workers from various industries. Two-way tourist flow has also been a major contributor in boosting people-to-people linkages between the two sides.
This has only gotten better with the recent announcement of visa-free entry for Indian passport holders travelling to Malaysia from Dec 1, 2023 until Dec 31, 2024, which permits a stay of up to 30 days for each entry and visit to the country.
A visa-free entry for Malaysians to India would further boost cultural and religious tourism between both countries.
On the trade front, Malaysia is India's third-largest trade and commerce partner among Asean countries. The bilateral trade reached across US$19.89 billion in 2022-2023, and is poised to cross the US$25 billion mark in the next three years. Settlement of Malaysia-India trade in Indian rupee in July 2022 will further enable seamless trade between the two nations.
The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), agreed in 2011, boosted trade and investment between them. Infrastructure, information technology, biotechnology and energy are some of the most significant areas of economic partnership.
Both Malaysia and India have joined the recently launched IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework), which opens new vistas of cooperation for them in a multilateral setting.
Malaysia-India defence and military cooperation is moving from strength to strength. They have conducted joint military exercises, engaged closely in naval operations and hosted high-level military officials. The latest addition to the series is the recently concluded Third India-Malaysia maritime exercise "Samudra Laksamana" in Visakhapatnam, India.
With the successful addition of the bilateral air exercise, "Udara Shakti" in 2022, the two armed forces have equipped themselves with cooperation across the three services - army, navy and air force. Such military-to-military engagements testify to a shared commitment to ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The two countries have also collaborated on counter-terrorism initiatives, emphasising the importance of a coordinated approach to combating extremism.
Notwithstanding their strong foundation and continuous efforts to cooperate and collaborate, Malaysia-India relations face impediments. Geopolitical and security challenges, trade-related differences and diplomatic sensitivities have frequently tested the stability of this partnership.
To tackle these complexities and elevate the relationship, candid dialogues and earnest engagements while maintaining mutual respect are essential. Both countries need to be mindful about the complexity of their domestic affairs and maintaining a dignified understanding would ensure the warmth in their relationship.
Malaysia and India should focus more on low-hanging fruits, such as expanding cooperation in the education sector - initiating more scholarships in social sciences and encouraging more systematic movement of Malaysian students to India in fields such are aerospace, information technology, artificial intelligence, traditional medicine, etc.
Other areas to foster stronger collaborations are in the areas of defence procurement, renewable energy, semiconductors and electronics manufacturing, and start-ups.
With over 30 years of institutional partnership between Asean and India and centuries of close ties between Malaysia and India, there is optimism that a shared Indo-Pacific vision can contribute to maintaining a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and rule-based Indo-Pacific region with Asean at its core and Malaysia playing a crucial role in engaging the rising new India.
Dr Rahul Mishra is Senior Research Fellow at the German-Southeast Asian Centre of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance, Thammasat University, Thailand, and Associate Professor at the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He tweets @rahulmishr_
Neevia Kurup, an Alumna of Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, is an expert on Asia-Europe relations, EU-Asean dynamics, Malaysian Foreign Policy and the Indo-Pacific politics.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times