Great powers, even if good neighbours, do compete. India and China are no exception. Though the two countries have crossed many bridges in building an affable relationship, the mutual competition for power and influence is interminable. This was evident in the recent East Asia Summit (EAS).

When the EAS was being conceived, China favoured ASEAN+3, as they came within the geographical contours of East Asia. India was thus out of the initial framework. However, partly due to sustained engagement with the region under its 'Look East Policy', and partly due to balance of power considerations, India found a place in the summit.

The EAS is just one example how India and China are competing to influence regional groups and associations. Although both countries were late converts to regionalism, China has an edge. It is a member of almost all regional forums along its periphery. Some of them, indeed, are China's initiatives. After a long and unrelenting attempt, China also got 'observer status' in SAARC, though technically it is out of South Asia.

China's regional policy, in many ways, is premeditated. China's rising economic clout, high volume trade and military modernization makes it a natural choice in regional groupings. China is engaging them on all issues pertaining to economy, security, and regional politics. These engagements have helped China to transform its image as a cooperative partner in security and community building exercises. The ASEAN countries, for example, are no more vocal of China being a threat. Rather, China is perceived as an opportunity.

India's regional posture, on the other hand, has been hemmed in by constraints. Part of the reason is India's preoccupation with SAARC and its inability to get out of the South Asian conundrum. Also, India's trade with SAARC or other regional groups compared to China's is very low. For example, Indo-ASEAN trade is just one fifth of the Sino-ASEAN trade, which is over $100 billion. Nevertheless, India is attempting to reach out to new areas such as Africa and Latin America apart from consolidating its position in Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Both countries are engaged in competitive regionalism and they face each other on many platforms. The EAS is just one of them. Although India has thwarted Chinese pressure and gained a confident foothold in ASEAN, there is an atmosphere of apprehension elsewhere. While India has been provided an 'observer status' in the SCO with China's help, allowing China a similar status in SAARC may undermine the sub-regional balance of power. Interestingly, India's Mekong Ganga Project excludes China, while China's own Greater Mekong Project does the same to India. In addition, wherever India looks for new partners in search for its 'energy security', Chinese companies step in with promises of lucrative investments and often walk away with the contracts.

Competition notwithstanding, there is space for India and China to cooperate. For example, In India's northeast and China's Yunan province, the Bangladesh-India-Myanmar-China (BIMC) or the Kunming initiative has the potential to churn the region into a zone of prosperity. Similarly, enduring partnership between the two Asian giants via SCO, ASEAN Regional Forum, or the EAS has the potential to curb transnational crime, terrorism, drug menace and sea piracy. On a positive side, it has the capacity to promote, as the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of the EAS noted, concerns like 'development, financial stability, energy security, economic integration and growth, technology transfer and infrastructure development, capacity building, and promote financial links, trade and investment expansion'.

Regionalism is here to stay. Indeed, as the Hong Kong ministerial meet of the WTO echoed, regionalism is a better approach to overcome issue - based division and divisions between developed and developing countries. The proliferation of regional associations in post-WTO period substantiates this fact. However, India needs to be more consistent in pursuing regionalism. Two things go in India's favour. First, there are many regional associations having no formal contact with India. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is one such example. On the other hand, China is in final stage of negotiating a free trade pact with GCC. India is also not incorporated in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) or Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Second, India's educational infrastructure, scientific institutions and resource pool are one of the best in Asia. So is the case with its military training institutions. A little more munificence can earn the country plenty of goodwill and soft power projection.

Competition or cooperation, India's location, size, GDP, etc. is such that it needs to explore linkages with as many regional groupings as possible. Only then can India realize its potential as a regional and global power. (View are Author's Own)