The document summarizes a study visit to several think tanks in India, including the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The visit was highly anticipated and included discussions on non-traditional security themes in Asia, India-China relations, security in the Indian Ocean, and India-ASEAN relations. The ICWA event was well-organized and hosted prominent world leaders. IDSA provided valuable insights into India's stance regarding China. NMF emphasized the importance of the Indian Navy and maritime cooperation with ASEAN. JNU featured a vigorous debate

1. Introduction
• High anticipation after 25 years return since 1990s
• Trip of 60 books shopping
• Nuclear, self sufficiency, closed economy, NAM, war with
Pakistan & China defined
• Rising India & modernisation
• Can smell and feel pulse of vibrancy

2. Think-tank No. 1: ICWA housed within
Sapru House

3. Chairman Siddhartha, centre; Tan Sri Rastam 2nd R
Discussing the importance of:
Non Traditional Themes in Asian Foreign Policies.
Challenges of Economy, Public Health and Ecology.
Challenges of Insecurity and Violence.
Technology in Asian Relations.
Regional Groupings: Towards Continental Convergence.

4. Think-tank No. 2:
Visit to Institute
for Defence
Studies and
Analysis
Studying the
Rising China
and Rising
India and its
Cooperation.

5. Think-tank No. 2:
Visit to Institute for Defence Studies
and Analysis (IDSA)

6. Think-tanks No. 3: National Maritime Foundation.
Discussed the security of The Indian Ocean.

7. Study visit to Think-tank No. 4: Jawaharlal
Nehru University(JNU). Discussed India-
ASEAN Relations.

8. School of International Studies, JNU

11. Paying our visit to Malaysian High Commissioner
to India H.E. Datuk Naimun Ashakli Mohammad,
who hosted us a great dinner.

12. Taj Mahal: World’s biggest monument
dedicated to love, build by Shah Jahan.

16. India national bird: peacock.

17. Study Visit to ICWA
Strength
• Well organised event
• Punctual start & end
• Hosted world leaders
• Book launch
• Apex think tank
Weakness
• Hot weather
• D2 of 6th Asian Relation
Conference, on Non
Traditional Themes in Asia
• No chance to meet Allahabad

18. Opportunity
• Getting books @Connaught,
JNU
• Met classmates
• Fellowship w Ambassador
• Interaction with Professor &
colleague
Threat
• Security alert all time
• Swine flu, vaccination
• Gastroenteritis
• Fever of fellow colleague

19. Indian Council of World Affair (ICWA)
• It was a highly anticipated study visit since my return from
my ICCR-scholarship sponsored study there in the 1980s, a
hiatus of close to 30 years. Those was the day of
Ambassador car plying Delhi now replaced by modern
Japanese car speaks volume of the modernizing rising India,
India that is now a confident nuclear power, transformed
from closed to an open economy, self sufficient in many
areas of the economy and one certainly can feel the pulse
of vibrancy, energy, success and smell the ever presence of
money in the business environment. I was especially
excited and prepared for the biggest book shopping haul of
my lifetime, brought back 60 books on IR and security
study, fully satisfied.

20. • The premier foreign policy think tank institution of ICWA is an
equivalent of Institute of Strategic and International Study (ISIS) of
Malaysia, a finest research house of India, currently headed by DG
Ambassador Mr. Rajiv Kumar Bhatia on showcase and hosted the
prominent world’s leaders who visited here as to how policy are
being initiated, brainstormed, hammered, articulated and adopted
for progressive and confident India, by a team of dedicated
competent scholars, covering issues as diverse from traditional
security to terrorism, climate change and global trade regime, with
large number of the latest articles covering every corner of the
world. The institution is housed in a historic Sapru House building is
set in the early summer of lush green huge expense of garden
aesthetically appealing right in the heart of New Delhi speaks
volume of its eminence.

21. • Our visit on 24 March 2015 witnessed the
intense vibrant debates among world’s top
academicians and researchers from Korea to
Israel, Nepal to Malaysia, including our ISIS
Chairman Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa, covering
area like the importance of science,
innovation and technology, cyber security,
water security and initiative on common
currency and continental convergence was
most stimulating.

22. • The event of ICWA was impressively organized
with pin point accuracy and punctuality. The
only drawback being that the weather was
warming up yet we have to dress up in full suit
is testament to our delayed missed golden
period in the spring of February 2015.

23. • The city was evidently guarded with sentry posts
throughout testifying the alertness to the ever
danger posed by religious militants that defined
India stance with its neighbors. The outbreak of
swine flu necessitated everyone to take
vaccination to avoid being another statistic of a
thousand dead. We were warned to the ever
present of risk of gastroenteritis and so
precaution was meticulously observed with
taking boiled freshly prepared food.

24. • Indian Defense Study Analysis (IDSA), was my favorite
destination as we debated on the India-China Relations and
the potential silk route into India from the border from
Yunnan province which gave me the first hand insight into
the feeling of Indian official stance on China aggression and
the Principle of Panchsheel. India would not want to be in
the alliance with the America to balance China but instead
follow their own line to solve the dispute with China to its
own interest. My personal analysis is that since China has
solved its border problem with all its neighbors except India
is an indication that we stays positive that one day it will be
resolved, and with that both nations will benefit from
historic stumbling block to their relations removed, though
easier said than done.

25. • The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) is set in the massive
compound and building at the periphery of Delhi, is a premier
maritime research house. The rising India is best observed in the
importance the commanders attached to the Indian Ocean that
India must be able to exert its influence through its formidable
Indian Navy. There has been a lot of collaboration with the ASEAN
states in joint naval exercises. They have been invited to help find
solutions to Southern Thailand in security arrangement, and in
Myanmar to break the monopoly of China influence in a clear
evidence of interplay on the balance of power. The salient feature I
observed here is that the research unit NMF is given a corner of
two annex blocks dedicated for the purpose besides the huge main
administrative building. Smaller nations can model along this line of
setting aside a small space for the purpose of research without
setting aside too much of a budget for that function and duty of
service to the nation.

26. • The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), is the
apex university producing India’s finest
researchers in IR. The debate there was
vigorous between the two sides of the divide
where the two institutions argue on the
importance of India-ASEAN Relations in the
past, current and similarly the future. It was
through here that I bought the most
impressive of my private library collection.

27. • My impression is that ever since PM Narendra Modi took
office he has demonstrated a unique leadership able to
rally his people together and took the lead to market India
or the Make in India Incorporated to the rest of the world
very well, and with his success in Gujarat is testimony to
more yet to come that I have already witnessed massive
sport city, high rise condominium under 24 hours
construction and state of the art highway and airport, many
massive industrial zone whereby China has moved into SEZ
on manufacturing, and India moving to China to build on
ICT and pharmaceutical industries is complementary to cut
down trade deficit, is good news on rising India sound
strategy.

28. • India being the second largest remittance
nation will give it sufficient resources to
catalyze its industrialization whose persistent
annual GDP growth of more than 7 % give an
unmistaken potential whose advantage is
further augmented by support given by
American and Japan.

29. Conclusion
• The excitement aura, energy, anticipation
filled my entire journey that is more than
successful that words alone is insufficient to
describe the experience and memory that
permeate every nerve fiber of me.

30. • My only worry that what may derail its ambition is its cast
system that segregate its population unnecessarily, a huge
rich-poor divide that need to be narrowed, its corruption
need to be reeled in and red tape cut so as tap its full
potential to attract FDI and the continued sourcing of
resources for infrastructure that has to compete with
India’s defense needs. One caveat however is being the
second largest diasporas in the world of non-resident
overseas Indian could inject unexpected huge resources.
Democracy is a good virtue, but may squabble on the land
reform bill needed to open up huge area for big industrial
park. One other is the social stability whereby sectarian
violence and religious extremism of the past need to be
managed carefully and sensitively.

31. • What benefited me directly is that I got firsthand
knowledge and emphatic about the strong feeling
evoked from officers on the ground is worth not
comparable from class learning and literature
gathered, what more the direct communication already
put to use and the perspective it helps directly on my
current thesis. What benefited Malaysia is that we can
follow on their tested success model to shorten our
journey to success. The network builds and continued
collaboration and interchanges of information and
research will help a long way, saving us time, effort and
resources.

32. Other centres
JNU
• Dynamic, vibrant, agile,
• Focused, exploring
• Demand answer from
students
Shaped me
• Indian IR slot in tightly Vs Thesis
• Indo-Pacific: US agenda, bring
India to SCS, contain China
• India-China pursue B/L Trade
Investment, manufacturing, IT

33. Other centres
idsa
• India-China detailed discuss
• Transport corridor Vs
Economic
• China no demand put forth
NMF
• Supreme on land means in sea
• Highway of sea lane, energy
• Powerful actors
• India invited to Thailand help
security in South Thailand,
highway to Myanmar
• Granted corner for R&D,
annex block model for
development

34. Opportunity for Malaysian companies
• Delhi Airport, highway, infra
build by IJM & others

35. Conclusion
• Narenda Modi make great effort to market India
• Infra taking shape, sport city, high-rise, traffic jam
• SEZ, make in India Incorporated
• Rising power supported by US Allies, economic,
military
• Adjacent to China, 3 Billion population market
• World back-door office, ICT, pharma, funding
• Not part of global supply chain manufacturing
• 2nd or Biggest remittance nation, $21 B in 2005

36. Challenges: Overall impression
• Big population with wide rich-poor gap
• 4-tier cast system, + untouchable Lalit
• Corruption
• History of Religious polarisation
• others:
– Infra, transport, logistic,
– Resources shortage, competition internationally with
emerging nations, raw materials, water, fuel
– Indian diasporas influence in other countries, as lobby
– FDI concentrated in services outsourcing

37. •End of Study
visit to Indian
Think-tanks

38. Part 2: Introduction to our Course.
• This course is coaching on how to set strategies for national foreign
policy and how trade and investment work in the political world,
business intelligence and of course the business world. Diplomacy is
very much how we strategies to win in any negotiation with foreign
power or a business negotiation. We also study National and
international security and how to understand the balance of power
game.
• Courses covers: Comparative Foreign & Defence Policy,
Contemporary Security, Asia-Pacific Security, Human Security,
Methodologies, International Political Economy, Seminar on
Strategy & Diplomacy, Non-traditional Security, Strategic Study &
Diplomacy, Diplomatic Theory & Practice, International Security
Issue, International Law & Organisation, Research Thesis.

39. • For clarification
• drdavidling@gmail.com