New Delhi: India supports a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the government said Thursday, emphasising that the 10-nation grouping’s role is more important today given the geopolitical challenges and uncertainties the world faces.
India is hosting a two-day meet of ASEAN foreign ministers to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the grouping. ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said ASEAN’s centrality in the Indo-Pacific region was fully recognised as it has “successfully carved a niche for itself and built the foundation for a strategic and economic architecture” in the region.
“ASEAN has always stood tall as a beacon of regionalism, multilateralism and globalisation,” Jaishankar said at the meeting, adding a better-connected India and ASEAN would be well positioned to promote decentralised globalisation and reliable supply chains.
“It is important to identify new priorities while ensuring the early realisation of our ongoing initiatives,” Jaishankar said, reiterating that India had a shared vision for the region given its Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative – a move to facilitate regional cooperation between maritime neighbours.
“India-ASEAN ties must respond to the world that we confront,” he added.
The India-ASEAN foreign ministers’ dialogue will focus on overall developments in the Indo-Pacific region and highlight ways to further expand ties against the backdrop of geopolitical developments, including the crisis in Ukraine.
The foreign ministers will also likely discuss the situation in the South China Sea, a resource-rich region that has witnessed increasing Chinese muscle-flexing.
The ASEAN — considered one of the most influential groupings in the region — has India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia as dialogue partners.
The ties between India and ASEAN have been upbeat in the last few years with focus ramped up on cooperation in trade, investment, security and defence.
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