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Accentuating the need for an economic and political consortium in the region, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has advocated the formation of an Asia-Pacific Community (APC) by 2020. Following the footsteps of ASEAN's achievement, Kevin Rudd proposed the design of setting up a community with an agenda covering political, security and economic collaboration, so as to "avoid reemergence of fundamental strategic rifts" in the future.

Intended to encourage the "habits of cooperation,” the APC will deal with the underlying challenges concerning boundary claims. It will also work towards peace and conflict resolution in the region to minimize the threat of any clash in future. Besides, it will also look to augment collaboration on the creation of a unified market.

In the view of an Australian analyst, Rudd’s proposal is aimed at overcoming the compartmentalization of existing regional institutions by creating an effective leadership forum where major political, economic and security issues could be dealt with holistically rather than piecemeal.

Amidst widespread academic and diplomatic skepticism of the proposal, the question arises on why Australia is keen that India should join this regional institution? Glancing through the pages of history, it is clear that India and Australia have a long and multifaceted relationship. Both countries have a wide range of international and regional issues to deal with, climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, resources and energy sector, fight against terrorism to name a few.

The diplomatic agencies of both nations are constantly working towards the enhancement of existing regional cooperation. However, recent times have witnessed the racial attacks on Indian students and Canberra’s denial to provide New Delhi with uranium despite its earlier support to the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. Political shift of this kind does undermine the efforts and trust of both the countries to some extent.

Highlighting the change in political dynamics of the region, Rudd argued that managing major-power relations, particularly in the context of the rise of China and India, will be crucial for our collective future. This will place a premium on wise statecraft, particularly the effective management of relations between the United States, Japan, China, and India.

With the rapid and consistent rise on the economic front and international dais, ignoring India is no more a possibility. Emphasizing on the need of the hour, Rudd stressed on the need for mechanisms that help to cope with strategic shocks and discontinuities-the need of a common platform  that brings together the leaders of the key nations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Indonesia, India, China, Japan, the US and other nations, with a mandate to engage across the breadth of the security, economic and political challenges we will face in the future. . There is a concern that absence of such a body might display a strategic drift within our region or, even worse could be a situation of strategic polarization that does not serve anyone’s interest.

In the view of an Indian analyst, Australia also wants India to be a part of the APC, Kevin Rudd’s brainchild, which intends to involve the US, China, Australia, Japan and India. The proposed grouping, if realized, will be the only regional organization involving India, China and the US and would thereby help start a dialogue among them on many contentious issues of the Asia- Pacific.

But what benefits can India reap through the APC? Currently India is a dialogue partner of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum and a participant at the East Asia Summit. However it is still not a member of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Till date the forum of APEC has shunned India’s participation mainly due to geopolitics factors, but APC gives India an opportunity to associate herself with the East Asian forum and grow its economical, political and strategic influence in the region.

Advocating India’s participation in the region, an analyst stressed that even when India is not a formal member of the APEC group, it is fully entrenched economically, strategically and politically in the evolving East Asian scheme of things. In fact an argument can be made that while the predominant aspect of India in East Asia is economic and should be that way, political and strategic calculations cannot be brushed off however casual they may seem.

According to the Australian analyst, whatever happens, a new set of relations will need to be build between these three powers, and with India as well, which reflects and accommodates new power realities.

India’s involvement with the East Asian Community is a relevant issue which demands much political will, reforms and intensive engagement from New Delhi. India has to actively take part in the evolving East Asian schemes so that it continues to enhance its political influence and grow economic and strategic ties with nations of this region, thus forming strong bedrock to achieve its aim to be a superpower one day.