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East and Southeast Asian relations with Northeast India

The East Asian countries of Japan and Korea have significant contemporary influence over and cultural similarities with Northeast India; Northeast India engages to a significant extent with Korean and Japanese culture and has been receiving infrastructural investment from Japan. Northeast India also has substantial historical connections to Southeast Asia; India's Act East policy seeks to harness this connectivity in the modern day.[1]

A map showing Northeast India bordering China and Myanmar, which are East Asian and Southeast Asian respectively.

East Asia

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China

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See also: Sino-Indian border dispute, Greater Yunnan, and India–Tibet relations

China claims the border state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which has resulted in tensions between India and China.[2] Since 2009, China has issued "stapled visas" to people from Arunachal Pradesh when they wish to travel to China, signaling that they are perceived as having the same right of movement as Chinese citizens throughout China.[3]

Japan

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See also: Japanese–Meitei cultural relations

Historically, Northeast India and Japan have been connected to some extent through Buddhism; other cultural similarities have existed for millennia, such as in food and through an appreciation for nature.[4][5] During World War 2, the Japanese military collaborated with the Indian National Army in the region;[6] eventually, the westward expansion of the Japanese Empire was put to a stop in Northeast India in the 1944 Battle of Imphal. Since then, Japan has contributed to the construction of infrastructure in the region.[7] Northeast Indians consume some Japanese cultural products as well, such as anime.[4]

Northeast India is currently being prioritized by India and Japan as part of Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy and as part of India's Act East policy,[8] with both countries seeing the region as especially important for creating trading routes due to their collective rejection of China's Belt and Road Initiative.[9] Northeast India, in conjunction with the neighboring BIMSTEC country of Bangladesh, is seen by Japan as an important region in containing China,[10][11] while India seeks to use its northeastern region to increase engagement with Southeast Asia.[11] The geographical similarities between Northeast India and Japan, as well as India's guarding of its northeast as a sensitive border region that it is unwilling to allow untrusted partner countries to invest in, are other major factors leading to India desiring Japan's involvement in the region.[12][13]

Korea

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See also: Korean Wave

Northeast India has often felt alienated from the rest of India (sometimes referred to as "mainland India"), leading it in recent decades to look towards phenotypically and culturally similar parts of Asia in the east for connection. Part of this alienation is due to local insurgents and others banning Hindi cinema and other potential tools of "Indianization" in the region.[14][15][16] In this context, Korean culture has become popular in Northeast India, with Korean words becoming increasingly prevalent in the local languages.[17] Korean food has also become increasingly popular at local restaurants.[18] The popularity of Korean culture that emerged in Northeast India has since spread to the rest of India in recent years.[16] One aspect of Korean culture's popularity in Northeast India is its ability to incorporate Christian principles in a non-Western manner, making it more relatable in some ways to Northeast Indian youth than Western culture.[19]

Southeast Asia

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India has sought to use Northeast India to connect to Southeast Asia for trading purposes. However, recent conflicts such as the 2023–2024 Manipur violence have reduced the stability of the region for this purpose.[20]

Myanmar

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See also: India–Myanmar relations

Myanmar is the only Southeast Asian country that borders Northeast India. There are substantial cross-border ethnic ties, with the Indian government having allowed a limited amount of unregulated movement across the border from 2018 to 2024.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Singh, Bikash (2024-02-16). "Act East policy boosts regional cooperation: Northeast India's economic corridors explored in roundtable conference". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  2. ^ Reporter, Aadil Brar China News (2024-03-29). "Indian state part of China "since ancient times," Beijing says". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  3. ^ "Explained: China issuing 'stapled visas' to Arunachal Pradesh players may concern national security; here's how". Livemint.
  4. ^ a b "Japan blooms in India's North East". Gateway House. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  5. ^ ""Reimaging" Northeast India―NAKAMURA Yui | Features". Japan Foundation - WA Project (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  6. ^ "Japan's Infrastructure Investment in Northeast India". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  7. ^ "Northeast India and The Troika of Bangladesh, India and Japan - Civilsdaily". 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  8. ^ "How India and Japan Zoomed in on Northeast India". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  9. ^ Mayumi Murayama; Sanjoy Hazarika; Preeti Gill, eds. (2021-09-30). Northeast India and Japan: Engagement through Connectivity. London: Routledge India. doi:10.4324/9781003165026. ISBN 978-1-003-16502-6.
  10. ^ Chowdhury, Doreen (2023-04-21). "Locating Bangladesh in Japan's North-East India Ambition". Modern Diplomacy. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  11. ^ a b "Why Northeast matters for India-Japan collaboration in Indo-Pacific (News Analysis)". Business Standard.
  12. ^ Borah, Rupakjyoti (2021-03-14). "Japan Shares Good Reasons to Collaborate in Northeast India's Development | JAPAN Forward". japan-forward.com. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  13. ^ Chowdhury, Doreen (2023-04-21). "Locating Bangladesh in Japan's North-East India Ambition". Modern Diplomacy. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  14. ^ Das, Bijoyeta. "Manipur: A part of India where Korea rules". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  15. ^ "Korean Cinema, Songs Rule Northeast India; Youth Looks Up To K-Pop Icons". Outlook India. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  16. ^ a b Upreti, Aditya Mani Jha & Payel Majumdar (2020-01-17). "Hallyu 2.0: Korean pop culture gains new ground in India". BusinessLine. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  17. ^ Ghosh, Manas (2022). "Transnational Korean Culture: A Response from North-Eastern and Eastern India". HP University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 10 (2).
  18. ^ "SOUTH KOREAN SOFT POWER IN NORTH-EAST INDIA". Sikkim Express.
  19. ^ Kaisii, Athikho (2022), Roy, Ratan Kumar; Das, Biswajit (eds.), "Youth and Popular Culture: Korean Wave in North-East India", Korean Wave in South Asia: Transcultural Flow, Fandom and Identity, Singapore: Springer Nature, pp. 79–97, doi:10.1007/978-981-16-8710-5_4, ISBN 978-981-16-8710-5, retrieved 2024-05-02
  20. ^ "As Manipur Burns, India's Connectivity Plans in Southeast Asia Go Up in Smoke". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  21. ^ Sharma, Yashraj. "'We're a single village': India seals Myanmar border, dividing families". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
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