In an era in which it is both fashionable and intellectually convenient to publish tomes on geopolitics, major power contestation and enduring wars, veteran diplomat Gurjit Singh’s latest book, aptly titled The Durian Flavour, is a deeply insightful review of India-ASEAN relations in a rapidly changing global order.A scene from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Shutterstock)Singh is a rare member of his tribe to have specialised in both ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the African Union, two key geographies on India’s flanks. His professional experience, including in Japan and Germany, imbues his work with unique perspectives on ASEAN, a complex region at the heart of the unfolding dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. That his book has been endorsed by eminent leaders of South-east Asia is testimony to the academic rigour and forward-looking character of its contents, especially on translating India’s profound historical connect into stronger contemporary trade and investment ties. Like the eponymous fruit, The Durian Flavour juxtaposes the sweet aroma of untapped potential with the malodorous whiff of underperformance in the India-ASEAN relationship in the past, something that is now being actively addressed by the Modi government.The book sets out with a sweeping overview of India’s civilizational ties with Southeast Asia and the active transformation of the Look East Policy (LEP) into the Act East Policy (AEP) after 2014. Ironically, neither the LEP nor the AEP of India have publicly excluded China; yet the nature of China’s rise, particularly the growing shadow of its economic and military power in the region, has framed India-ASEAN relations as well as other regional relationships as balancing acts. Over the years, as ASEAN has expanded, it has brought new members into the fold, the latest being Timor-Leste. The author meticulously outlines the changing character of ASEAN with the admission of Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia (the CLMV countries), which, despite their greater economic and ideological connect to China, enjoy deep-rooted ties with India. The author rightly avers that one of his key challenges as a diplomat was to get ASEAN countries to view India beyond the sociocultural framework of the shared legacy of The Ramayana and TheMahabharata.As this writer has himself experienced, of the two external influences that permeate the ASEAN, the Indic clearly prevails over the Sinic in civilizational terms. A visit to the National Museum in Jakarta reveals how much more space is devoted to the Indian connect. However, as soon as one steps out onto the streets, it is China’s contemporary engagement in trade, investment, infrastructure and connectivity that is more evident.As the author brings out later in the book, it is this pragmatism in ASEAN member states towards engagement with China, often characterized by deep dependencies, that influences their positions on issues such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the still-pending Draft Code of Conduct, the Indo-Pacific as well as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.Singh avers that despite India’s close engagement with ASEAN as a Dialogue Partner since 1996 under the ASEAN Plus One format, it does not match the advantages of the regionally-integrated architecture that binds together China, Japan and the Republic of Korea as economic partners under the ASEAN Plus Three format. Of course, some of the impediments to deeper India-ASEAN cooperation under the “Development Partner” framework are attributable to the frailties of intra-ASEAN decision-making and the frequently oft elusive consensus. Singapore and Indonesia, especially, have been consistently supportive of closer ties between ASEAN and India.The book corelates the interlinkages between India’s evolving AEP (Act East Policy), the dawn of a new era in India-Japan relations (which this reviewer had the privilege of steering as Ambassador to Japan during a crucial phase between 2015-2018), and the expansion of India-Africa engagement. The broad proposition here, and later in the book, is that India-ASEAN relations stand to benefit from trilateral cooperation with Japan or European partners such as Germany, which are stakeholders in peace, prosperity and development in the Indo-Pacific. Interestingly, the ASEAN member states continue to expound the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) as a way to enhance their strategic space, despite economic dependence on China and the latter’s well-known preference for “Asia-Pacific”.The author explores the ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum), EAS (East Asia Summit), BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), MGC (Mekong–Ganga Cooperation), and even the IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) and FIPIC (Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation) to assess the potential for leveraging India’s participation in regional fora to deepen India-ASEAN ties. The participation of four ASEAN member states in IORA highlights the conjoined importance of the eastern and western parts of the Indian Ocean. The author also avers that India’s connect to ASEAN through the Act East Policy has compensated for its exclusion from APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).Considerable space is devoted to the defence and security dynamics of a region reeling under China’s economic rise, expansion of military power and coercive actions that propagate irredentist claims in the South China Sea. The author explores the potential for closer partnerships beyond humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and routine naval exercises to the sale (by India) of defence platforms – like the BrahMos deal with the Philippines; and now with Vietnam and Indonesia too. The constraining factor limiting ASEAN’s options is that the ARF and ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus) are Ministerial-level constructs. Another limiting factor is that US policies and level of participation in apex structures like the EAS have been far from consistent.Gurjit Singh’s book offers perceptive assessments of the complex and granular details of India’s negotiations with ASEAN for agreements in goods and services and gives useful suggestions for further improvement. He takes the discerning reader through the maze of issues that guided India’s position during RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) negotiations, and justifies, in hindsight, the decision to walk away from an agreement that favoured China’s access, directly or indirectly, to regional markets, including India’s. The author suggests that India can ill afford to contest China’s hugely competitive presence in ASEAN and must, therefore, devise novel pathways for achieving success. Apart from the unfulfilled potential of the economic partnership, Gurjit Singh also laments the gaps in engagement in science and technology, joint research and educational opportunities, even as tourism has flourished both ways and India has done much to assist in the restoration of cultural monuments across the region, including Ankor Wat in Cambodia. Similarly, there is untapped potential in films, sports, gaming, renewable energy, health care and physical connectivity. The author also draws attention to the unfulfilled promise of academic and student exchange programmes.Singh’s book is not without its lighter moments. He narrates an incident when he was nominated to represent India at the launch of the RCEP. Donning a light blue turban quite by chance, he was mistaken by many for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a fellow Sikh who was partial to wearing that colour.Rich in data and surveys, the book points to a growing sense of trust and acceptance among ASEAN countries regarding India’s influence in the region as opposed to changing, and often worsening perceptions about China’s modus vivendi, which leans towards domination.Overall, the author remains very optimistic about India-ASEAN relations in a changing global order. He sees India’s strengthening partnerships with the US, Japan, Australia and the Republic of Korea as positive vectors that support this relationship. In fact, he avers that a greater partnership between the Quad (The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a diplomatic and security partnership comprising India, the United States, Japan, and Australia) and ASEAN could help fundamentally reshape regional security perceptions. He states that, thanks to India’s balancing role, the Quad has eschewed an outright defence and security orientation in favour of advancing its image as a developmental partner.Ultimately, to engage the ASEAN and to savour the fabled durian, what India needs to do is to bring the relationship out of the museums and onto the streets. The many substantive outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Indonesia augur well for India’s deepening connect with a very important flank in the evolving architecture of the Indo-Pacific.Sujan Chinoy is a former Ambassador to Japan, is the Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; views expressed are personal.