Mainstream WeeklyIncreasing support and the rise of the rightist and anti-democratic political forces in the Southeast Asian region has been a matter of concern. The rightist forces have been present in the Indian political structure, but it has gained strength and momentum with these forces getting roots in major Asia-Pacific countries like Japan, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia in recent years. Most of these countries have been known for their representative democracy. But in recent years a new form of democracy, basically autocratic in nature and content nas surfaced in these countries.
India has been the classical example. Though Narendra Modi came to power riding on the back of the electoral democracy, he perpetrated an autocratic rule which strictly adhered to the rightist principles and fascist policies. Autocracy has always there in the political structure and system of countries across the globe, but this started acquiring a menacing dynamism after the global economic crisis of 2008. This gave rise to institutions and ideologies with a more impetus on the rise of right-wing political and ideological forces that seek to use religious, ethnic and/or national communities to build coalitions which are hostile to pluralist politics
Southeast Asia region has been a contentious zone. But it was after the global economic crisis that the countries of the region shifted their attention towards military needs. It was in 2023 India issued a joint statement with the Philippines expressing support for the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, which invalidated China