Brunei: Small is significant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on an official visit to Brunei on 3-4 September. This was the first bilateral visit of an Indian Prime Minister to this ASEAN country which has an area of only 5765 square kilometres and a population of a little more than 4.6 lakhs. It is, however, extremely rich in hydrocarbon resources. Consequently, it has a per capita GDP of over US $ 35,000. At one time its ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was the richest man in the world. The Sultan ascended to the throne in 1967 at the age of 21; his father abdicated and made him Sultan. He is therefore been Brunei’s absolute ruler for 57 years by now.

Brunei became fully independent from Britain in 1984. Prior to that it was a British protectorate; while the Sultans exercised power internally the British took care of Brunei’s foreign relations and provided it security. After it took full control of its destiny in 1984, India established diplomatic ties with it. Hence, Modi’s visit coincided with 40 years of the establishment relations between the two countries. Initially India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia was concurrently accredited to Brunei but a resident Mission was established in 1993. Bhawani Singh, the former Maharaja of Jaipur, was appointed as the first resident Indian High Commissioner to Brunei in 1994 and he continued in that office till 1997.

Bhawani Singh’s appointment was on account of his personal ties with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Both were passionate polo players and this formed a bond between them. At times, countries send envoys to other states who have personal ties with its leadership. This helps in building ties though, as this writer has noted in these columns on several occasions, the coincidence of interests is the only enduring basis for relations between states. At the time of Bhawani Singh’s appointment India had hoped that it will gain access to some of Brunei’s hydrocarbons. Till then their destination was largely Japan. Brunei did not divert the direction of its hydrocarbon supplies. That, again, vindicates this writer’s views on the limited role of personal ties in inter-state relations.

The Brunei ruling family’s passion for polo continues as two of the Sultan’s children take part in polo competitions. It would not be inappropriate to mention, in some detail, about Hassanal Bolkiah’s contacts with India on the polo circuit. The La Polo magazine notes in an article; “In his younger years, the sultan was an active member of the polo circuit, and at one point even played on the side of the 61st Cavalry Indian Army team. In recent years, he has been known to regularly attend polo events, especially after two of his children took up competitive polo. Additionally, a few years back, on the occasion of the sultan’s 70th birthday celebrations, a friendly polo match had been organized between the Brunei team and the 61^st Cavalry Indian Army team, as an ode to his long association with the latter. The Sultan had specially taken time out for this particular match, despite his tight schedule. A testimony to his passion for polo”. It would be interesting to know if there was any discussion on the Sultan’s polo connection with India in his meeting with Modi. If there was it would have added a bit of condiment to the discussions.

The Joint Statement issued by India and Brunei after Modi and the Sultan’s meeting indicates a mutual desire to raise the level of bilateral ties and engage in cooperation across a wide area. These areas are noted in paragraph 7 which mentions them as: “defence, connectivity, trade and investment, energy including renewables, space, ICT, health and pharmaceuticals, education and capacity building, culture, tourism, youth and people-to-people exchanges, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest”. Both countries will have to undertake a lot of work, including in the energy sector, to achieve the vision of the leaders.

At this time when China is making ingress into the ASEAN region it has not neglected Brunei. According to media reports Brunei is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Significantly, a Brunei and Chinese joint venture is managing Brunei’s main port which is at Muara. In this context it would be significant to take stock of the contents of the Joint Statement on issues such as freedom of navigation and of ensuring the observance of international laws and conventions. Paragraph 22 of the Joint Statement would be seen by China as underlining positions which the region believes it has not respected. It states “Both leaders reiterated their commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, as well as respecting freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce, consistent with international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. The leaders also urged all parties to resolve disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS 1982”.

India would also take satisfaction that Brunei endorsed its views on terrorism. Significantly paragraph 23 of the Joint Statement declares “Both leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and called upon states to repudiate it. They underlined that no country should allow territory under their control to be used for terrorism; no country should harbour terrorists and resolved to work together to bring perpetrators of terrorist acts to justice. Recognizing terrorism and transnational organized crime linkages, both leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in this regard. Both sides agreed to work together at the UN and other multilateral fora to combat terrorism”.

All in all, Modi would be greatly satisfied with his successful visit to Brunei. It is now up to the diplomats and officials to carry the openings that have been created to fruition.