ii AREA STUDIES Politics of Military in Myanmar 120 A Journal of International Studies and Analyses Ganganath Jha Volume 5 Number 1 January – June 2011 The Role of Political Structure in Iran’s Energy 131 Decision Making Policy CONTENTS Mahnaz Zahirinejad Editorial Profile of Prof. K. Raja Reddy 150 Across the Himalayan Divide: India’s Engagement 1 with China, the Geo-Political Perspective Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies : 152 B. C. Upreti Events New Arrivals Growing Warmth in Taiwan - Mainland China 25 Relations : Implications for East Asia D. S. Rajan Profile of an Area Study Centre 159 Changing Dynamics of India-Korea Relations 33 Pankaj Jha The Process of Political Modernization: 58 A Comparative Study of Korea and India Alokka Dutta Bilateral Economic Relations between India and 75 South Korea V. Ramesh Babu India and South Korea: An Evaluation of 85 India’s Look East Policy Sarish Sebastian Democracy in Bhutan : The Evolution, Transition and 96 Challenges Ahead S. I. Humayun & Trishna Jaishi iii ISSN 0975 – 6035 Editorial Area Studies: A Journal of International Studies and Analyses Area Studies: A Journal of International Studies and © Centre for Southeast Asian & Pacific Studies Analyses, the flagship publication being brought out regularly as a bi-annual by the Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies, Printed on behalf of the Centre for Southeast Asian & Pacific is in the fifth year of its existence serving admirably as a forum for Studies by: the specialists in Area Studies belonging to various parts of the Students Offset Printers, 8-48-1 Jaya Sankar Nagar, world to air their views on a broad spectrum of the contemporary Air Bypass Road, Tirupati - 517 502. issues concerning different areas of the globe. Besides the schol- arly articles, the Journal’s contents include other features such as Appeal to the Contributors book reviews, reflections on the field work undertaken abroad by the Faculty members of the Centre, major activities of the Centre, The Editor invites original articles on various new arrivals of the Centre’s Library and profile of an Area Study aspects of international affairs. Manuscripts should Centre besides the profiles of the Faculty of Area Studies Cen- be double spaced and submitted by way of soft and hard copies. Notes should be numbered consecutively, tres who have rendered outstanding service to the cause of Area super scribed in the text and attached at the end of Studies programme during their service. Ever since its inception in the article. Figures and Tables should be presented 2007, the Journal has made rapid strides in terms of not only the separately. It is our pleasure to solicit such details as quality of its research articles but also its widening readership. major events (recent and forthcoming), commentar- The current issue of the Journal encompasses largely the ies, book reviews and responses to articles, from all papers on India-South Korea relations presented at the Interna- the Area Studies Centres and related institutions, for tional Seminar on ‘India and East Asia’, the Centre organized in incorporating the same in the forthcoming issues of October 2009, and a few other essays focusing on internal devel- this Journal. … Editor opments in Myanmar, the state and status of democracy in Bhutan, formulation of Iran’s energy policy and the implications of the de- Address for contributors and Correspondence: veloping relations between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of The Director China. Centre for Southeast Asian & Pacific Studies Sri Venkateswara University, Upreti examines India-China relations in the context of the Tirupati - 517 502 disputes relating to boundaries and the frontier policies and strate- [email protected] gies. In view of the fact that, China was in a highly advantageous position given its control over Tibet, occupation of a fair chunk of Technical Assistance: Indian territory, rapid military build up and close relations with Dr. M. PRAYAGA, Assistant Professor, Centre for Southeast India’s South Asian neighbours, in particular with Pakistan, Upreti Asian & Pacific Studies, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati vvi views that the best course for India was to tread the path of peaceful junta ruled Southeast Asian country. Mahnaz Zahirinejad throws negotiations. light on Iran’s energy decision making policy and the various po- litical factors that shape the energy policy of Iran. Rajan, while tracing the growing warmth in the bilateral ties of Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, makes critical analy- While expressing my profound thanks to the contributors of sis of wider political, economic and military implications of the the articles, I wish to state that the authors are responsible for the reconciliation of these two countries for Asia. facts and opinions expressed in their essays. Pankaj Jha elucidates India-South Korea bilateral ties which received a new impetus during the post-Cold War era when India Editor unveiled its Look East policy. He opines that there was need for Dr. C. Ravindranatha Reddy enhancing political and strategic engagements between the two Professor and Director countries. Centre for Southeast Asian & Pacific Studies Alokka Dutta, in her comparative study of political modern- Sri Venkateswara University ization movements in India and South Korea, observes that though Tirupati – 517 502 the political modernization processes in India and South Korea took altogether different trajectories, they were universal in char- acter. Ramesh Babu points out that the India-South Korea eco- nomic ties which were not quite encouraging have begun to regis- ter a spectacular growth since the dawn of the 21st century. He argues that the enhanced political relations between the two coun- tries would give an added boost to bilateral economic ties. Sarish Sebastian dwells on the burgeoning India-South Korea partner- ship in the context of India’s ‘Look East Policy’. Humayun and Trishna Jaishi discuss the evolving pattern of democracy in Bhutan and the challenges the Himalayan country’s nascent democracy has been facing. Ganganath Jha examines the various moves of the military leaders of Myanmar to crush the democracy movement under the leadership of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. He concludes that the prospects of democracy movement were not bright as China, India and ASEAN – the three power centres of the region – continued to pursue religiously the hands-off policy towards the AREA STUDIES AREA STUDIES A Journal of International Studies and Analyses A Journal of International Studies and Analyses MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Volume 5 Number 1 January – June 2011 Amb. A.N. Ram Prof. P.V. Rao Formerly Secretary Visiting Professor CONTENTS Ministry of External Affairs NALSAR University Editorial D-73, (7th Floor), IFS Apartments, Hyderabad Across the Himalayan Divide: India’s Engagement with Mayur Vihar, Phase-I, Delhi. [email protected] China, the Geo-Political Perspective - B. C. Upreti Prof. Richard Nile Director, Prof. Aruna Gopinath Growing Warmth in Taiwan - Mainland China Relations : Australia Research Institute Department of History Implications for East Asia - D. S. Rajan Curtin University of Technology University of Malaya Changing Dynamics of India-Korea Relations - Pankaj Jha Malaysia. GPO Box U1987 E-mail: [email protected] Perth, Western Australia 6845 The Process of Political Modernization: A Comparative Australia. Study of Korea and India - Alokka Dutta Prof. Girijesh Pant E-mail: [email protected] Bilateral Economic Relations between India Centre for West Asian & African Studies Dr. Kripa Sridharan and South Korea - V. Ramesh Babu School of International Studies Head of Research-Asia India and South Korea: An Evaluation of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University World-Check Look East Policy - Sarish Sebastian New Delhi – 110 067. Singapore E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Democracy in Bhutan : The Evolution, Transition and Prof. V. Suryanarayan Challenges Ahead - S. I. Humayun & Trishna Jaishi Prof. G.V.C. Naidu Former Director Centre for South, Politics of Military in Myanmar - Ganganath Jha Centre for South & Southeast Asian Stud- ies Southeast Asian and Western The Role of Political Structure in Iran’s Energy Decision University of Madras Pacific Studies Making Policy - Mahnaz Zahirinejad Chennai – 600 005. School of International Studies Profile of Prof. K. Raja Reddy Jawaharlal Nehru University Prof. A. Lakshmana Chetty New Delhi – 110 067. Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies : Former Director * Events Centre for Southeast Asian & Pacific Dr. Tai Wei LIM * New Arrivals Studies Assistant Professor Sri Venkateswara University National University of Singapore Profile of an Area Study Centre Tirupati – 517 502. Singapore. PUBLICATIONS OF THE CENTRE The Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies 1. V.M. Reddi, A History of the Cambodian Independence Movement, 1863-1955 (1970) (CSEA&PS), sponsored by the University Grants Com- 2. Lakshmana Chetty, India and SEATO: A Study in India’s Approach to Military Alliances (1988) mission (UGC) under Area Studies Programme, was 3. A. Lakshmana Chetty The United Nations Peace Initiative on Cambodia (1991) 4. Y. Yagama Reddy, Cambodia: Its People and Economy (1995) established in 1976 at Sri Venkateswara University, 5. L.L. Mehrotra, India’s Contribution to the Peace Process in Cambodia (1996) Tirupati. It is a multidisciplinary research Centre rep- 6. L.L. Mehrotra, Cambodia: The Paris Agreement and After (1996) 7. L.L. Mehrotra, Strategic Challenges to Indian Foreign Policy in the Aftermath of the Cold resenting five disciplines: Anthropology; Economics; War (1996) 8. A. Lakshmana Chetty (ed.), The States of Indochina: Stability, Development and For- Geography; History; and Political Science. CSEA&PS eign Relations (1997) has been promoting research on the political, eco- 9. A. Lakshmana Chetty, The Saga of Vietnamese Boat People (1997) 10. S. Nagarajan, Telugus of Southeast Asia in Early Age (1997) nomic, social and strategic aspects of the Area un- 11. Y. Yagama Reddy, Area Studies: The Proposition, Problems & Prospects (1998) 12.