India, ASEAN agree to enhance strategic ties
NEW DELHI: India and the ASEAN on Thursday agreed to work towards a comprehensive strategic partnership that is meaningful, substantive and mutually-beneficial by further enhancing their strategic ties.
This was stated in a statement by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan at the India-ASEAN foreign ministerial meeting being hosted by New Delhi to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation grouping.
Jaishankar and Balakrishnan are the co-chairs of the two-day meeting that began on Thursday.
It is understood that the meeting discussed the situation in the South China Sea, a resource-rich region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese muscle-flexing.
In their statement, the co-chairs said the meeting reaffirmed commitment to multilateralism founded on the principles of international laws including the Charter of the United Nations, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other relevant UN treaties and conventions.
The foreign ministers agreed to work towards maintaining an open and inclusive regional cooperation framework, support ASEAN centrality in the evolving rules-based regional architecture and uphold multilateralism in jointly responding to regional and global challenges.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia, are its dialogue partners.
In their statement, the co- chairs said the meeting agreed to further strengthen and deepen the ASEAN-India strategic partnership across the whole spectrum of political, security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation by utilising existing ASEAN-led mechanisms.
The meeting agreed to work towards a comprehensive strategic partnership between the ASEAN and India that is “meaningful, substantive and mutually-beneficial by further enhancing ASEAN-India strategic partnership”, they said.
The co-chairs said the meeting welcomed ASEAN-India cooperation in preventing and countering terrorism, the rise of radicalisation and violent extremism, and combating transnational crimes.
Recognising the importance of the health sector, the meeting agreed to cooperate in vaccine production and distribution, research and innovation in generic medicines, cooperation on traditional medicines, strengthening public health infrastructure and enhancing capacities for preparedness and response to pandemic and public health emergencies.
The foreign ministers also emphasised the need for more robust air and maritime connectivity.