India, Asean target China; joint declaration seeks to enhance South China Sea ties
New Delhi: In what is being seen as a clear but veiled joint message to China, India and the 10 Asean countries said on Thursday that they will ensure an “open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture” and enhance maritime cooperation, a move which comes in the wake of growing concerns in the region over Beijing’s rising military posturing.
In the joint Delhi Declaration by India and Asean the two sides decided on “maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region... and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with the principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”.
India and Asean also pressed for “early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea”.
These concerns over SCS were a part of the “political and security cooperation” of the Delhi Declaration of the ‘Asean India Comme-morative Summit to mark the 25th Anniversary of Asean-India Dialogue Relations’ in New Delhi.
Asean agrees to take on terror
The ministry of external affairs said the consensus on setting up of a mechanism for deeper was reached during a retreat session hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 10 Asean leaders.
Both the sides agreed to “further strengthen and deepen the Asean-India Strategic Partnership for mutual benefit, across the whole spectrum of political-security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation”.
Mr Modi and the 10 Asean leaders also agreed to fight the menace of terrorism. Connectivity and trade issues were also discussed at the Summit.
China has maritime disputes in the South China Sea with several of the Asean nations, including Vietnam and the Philippines. Beijing has also refused to accept the verdict of international tribunals on these disputes.
In a veiled reference to China, M Modi, in his address at the plenary session of the Summit, said that “India shares the Asean vision for rule-based societies and values of peace”, adding that “freedom of navigation will be a key focus of India-Asean in the maritime domain”. The 10 participating Asean dignitaries — who will also be chief guests at India’s Republic Day Parade on Friday — are Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Cambodian PM Hun Sen, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong, Brunei Sultan (ruler) Hassanal Bolkiah, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, Malaysian PM Najib Razak, Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
