Why India plans to develop ports in South East Asia? By Denny Darmodihardjo According toForbes, India is dominating the South Asian region despite the efforts of China to initiate large development plans in the region.But in reality, things are not as easy as it seemsfor India.China’s ambitious programs to connect Asia, Europe and Africa using roads and ports are becoming a bigger frustration for India. South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in the hot zone of global trade and export. Therefore, they are attracted by China rather than India with lucrative development programs which might shift the control of South Asia in the hands of China. Now,in this situation what should India do to establisha regional pre-eminence? The Indian response to tackle the Chinese programs is by building ports in the South East Asian region. The Aceh province of Indonesia is closer to the Indian Andaman and Nicobar islands and can be a prospective location for India to expandit
