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The dramatic rise of the world's two largest and populous economies—China and India—has generated ripples in Asia's regional architecture. One of the outcomes of the two ascents has been the efforts by both countries to enhance their respective strategic leverages in the region. In this regard, both countries have been steadily employing what in strategic parlance has gained popularity as 'soft power'.While soft power essentially refers to non-military persuasive means for extending national influence, there have been debates over its exact scope and limits. This article looks at two specific means of deploying such power—cultural diplomacy and economic aid—and studies how China and India have been using such means in the Southeast Asian region.In an effort to export its rich culture abroad, China has been patronising an elaborate network of cultural enterprises, interactions and exchanges. One of the early initiatives in this regard was the 6th Asia Arts Festival in 2004, which was attended by almost 1,000 artists from 17 Asian countries. The same year also witnessed China pushing the making of 'convention on protection of cultural and artistic diversity' and issuing the 'Shanghai Declaration' during the 7th annual ministerial meeting of the International Network on Cultural Policy.China's cultural advances are aimed at neutralising international perceptions of China as a military threat. The latter were prompted by territorial aggression in the South China Sea during the 1990s. The Beijing Olympics of 2008 was one of the best examples of China showcasing its benign image. The Olympics successfully injected the 'China element' into the world. The efforts to enhance a benign perception have paid dividends with the outside world becoming increasingly interested to know China better. This is reflected in the number of foreign students in China increasing from 36,000 to 1,10,000 over the past decade, along with a sharp increase in the number of foreign tourists, which went up to 17 million per year even before the Olympics. China has also established 295 Confucius institutes in 78 countries for spreading its language and culture abroad. These institutes are modelled after France's Alliance Française, Germany's Goethe-Institut and the UK's British Council.The number of non-Chinese people speaking Mandarin in the world is expected to increase to more than 1,00,000 very soon.While cultural diplomacy is a key element in China's foreign policy, it has also resorted to trade and financial aid for engaging Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia's perception of China has 'shifted significantly' since 1997. China's enthusiasm for bilateral agreements and active participation in regional multilateral frameworks gradually improved its image. Many scholars studying China's rising soft power image identify 1997 as a turning point. Its refusal to devalue its currency during the financial crisis signalled 'its decision as standing up for Asia'.China signed the Southeast Asia's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in 2003, renouncing force and calling for greater economic and political cooperation. It also committed to creating a code of conduct on the South China Sea, apart from its policy of 'non-interference in domestic affairs'. Its economic assistance and generous commitment to aid without strings attached have not only been heavily appreciated by recipient countries, but have also had a positive impact on China's image. China is the 'primary economic patron' of Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos—the lowest-income countries in Southeast Asia. It has financed several infrastructure and energy-related projects in these countries that involve Chinese labour along with supply of raw material and technical expertise. China has also offered aid support to other major economies in the region such as Indonesia and the Philippines.China has also been figuring prominently in regional and multilateral groupings involving Southeast Asian countries. These include the Asean+3 combine (Asean, China, Japan and South Korea) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) that includes China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and Asean. The formation of the EAS demonstrated Asean's degree of comfort with China. China's role as a regional leader on drug and human trafficking and its willingness to mediate disputes in Southeast Asia reflects the dominant flavour of its new soft power strategy.Despite being a rather late realisation, it is important to note that cultural diplomacy is increasingly being seen as central to Indian diplomacy.In this regard, the scope of culture has enlarged to include education, science and technology, sports, arts and literature, archives and heritage. Education is an essential segment of the diplomatic endeavour for engaging Southeast Asia. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) extends generous scholarships to Southeast Asian countries under several schemes. These include the General Cultural Scholarship Scheme, which provides 55 scholarships to Southeast Asian countries, 30 to BIMSTEC countries and 50 under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) scheme. ICCR also provides fellowships to Southeast Asian students and scholars under general schemes, such as the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme, Cultural Exchange Programme and the Colombo Plan.Like China, India has also been trying to plan an active role in the economic development of the lower income countries of Southeast Asia. The MGC is a particularly important initiative in this regard. Apart from India, the MGC includes Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Development of transportation networks is a priority of the MGC with the proposed networks including the East-West Corridor project and the Trans-Asian highway. There is also a proposal to build a rail link from Hanoi in Vietnam to New Delhi in India, which will pass through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. The link will integrate India's northeast with the Mekong delta and southern China and can be of significant economic benefit. India's initiatives under the MGC include a grant of $1 million to set up a museum of traditional textiles in Siem Reap.Bilaterally, India has extended credit lines through the Exim Bank of India to Myanmar for developing electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Myanmar. It is also playing an active role in developing hydel power capacities in Myanmar. On the other hand, India has been collaborating with Vietnam in biotechnology, IT, electronics, ocean development and medical research. Similar efforts with Cambodia pertain to tourism and air services while with Laos, they cover agricultural cooperation, science and technology, entrepreneurship and IT development as well as the development of irrigation facilities and transport infrastructure.The scale and scope of China's cultural diplomacy and economic assistance in Southeast Asia has been, until now, more than that of India's. Although India has been trying to 'catch up' in this regard by playing a prominent role in 'Asian' initiatives such as reconstruction of the Nalanda University, its efforts need to multiply and diversify. In this regard, it needs to pay particular attention to public diplomacy. Cultural and public diplomacy, particularly in terms of dedicated efforts to export the virtuous and appealing aspects of India's multifaceted culture, has been lacking. There is hardly any matching Indian initiative vis-à-vis the Confucius institutes set up by China. Clearly Southeast Asia, as well as the rest of the Asia-Pacific, is still a virgin territory as far as India's public diplomacy is concerned. In this regard, the strategic lead lies with China, given its distinct 'early mover' advantage.Amitendu Palit is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies in the National University of Singapore. Parama Sinha Palit is chief editor of the India-China Economic and Cultural Council. Views are personal
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