© Asian Studies Association of Australia 2003. Published by Blackwell Publishing Limited. “A PASSAGE TO INDIA”: INDIA–SINGAPORE COLLABORATION IN PORTS DEVELOPMENT Faizal Yahya National University of Singapore INTRODUCTION: THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION ON TRANSPORTATION The influences of globalisation have seen a trend towards increasing economic integration of the world’s sovereign economies that has made the international transportation network more complex. This complexity is indirectly caused by the longer transport distances and greater volumes being transported, but is more directly a consequence of rising trends in diversity of production and dis- tribution (Winkelmans 1992, 66–67). In this context, port planning has become more intricate because of the need to factor in variables such as the ability to accommodate different types and sizes of ships calling at ports and the skilled workers to handle the cargo. Common concerns among port operators range from the various types of goods to be handled at the port that require different cargo handling equipment to planning for an optimum position for the port with respect to new demands for shipping and port facilities (Winkelmans 1992, 67). With the increase in international sea-borne transportation, larger and more specialised vessels are being used to transport a vast array of goods that require specialised facilities for storage and handling at ports (Suykens 1992, 77). This phenomenon has also increased the tendency for shipping companies 1 to serve traders in a global market-place by seeking acquisitions and mergers among themselves, thereby creating transnational shipping companies. In one sense, globalisation is not a new phenomenon to the shipping industry because the advent of the “flag of convenience” meant that shipping was one of the relatively early industries to become “globalised” (Brooks 2000, 22–24). This article will examine the increasing links between the port 2 sectors in India and Singapore in the context of the challenges posed to the international shipping industry by globalisation. One of the challenges is that the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), a corporatised 3 government-linked Singapore Asian Studies Review. ISSN 1035-7823 Volume 27 Number 1 March 2003