20th India-ASEAN Summit

20th India-ASEAN Summit

News: India and ASEAN members agreed to enhance information-sharing and capacity-building in the maritime domain while strengthening cooperation through specialised agencies in the region.

Background:
• India reaffirmed that ASEAN is the central pillar of India’s Act East Policy.
• Prime Minister highlighted synergies of visions for Indo-Pacific between India and ASEAN, and underscored that ASEAN is the focal point of Quad’s vision.
• India also mentioned the need for a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea should be effective and compliant with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

What is ASEAN?
• ASEAN is an acronym for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is a regional organization of 10 countries in Southeast Asia.
• ASEAN was established in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote economic growth, social progress, cultural development, and peace and security in the region.
• Later, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia joined ASEAN as well.
• The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.
• The ASEAN Secretariat is in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• India including the U.S., China, Japan, and Australia are its dialogue partners.

What proposals did India make?
Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India – ASEAN cooperation. It includes:
• Establishing multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links South-East Asia-India-West AsiaEurope.
• Offered to share India’s Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners
• Announced ASEAN-India fund for Digital Future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity
• Invited ASEAN countries to join Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by WHO in India
• Called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness
• Invited ASEAN countries to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
• Two Joint Statements, one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security were adopted.

East Asia Summit (EAS)
The PM also participated at the East Asia Summit.
• The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of 18 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Oceanian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism.
• The EAS was established in 2005 with the aim of promoting economic growth, social progress, cultural development, and peace and security in the region.
• At the 18th East Asia Summit, Prime reiterated the importance of EAS mechanism and reaffirmed our support to further strengthening it. Prime Minister underlined India’s support for ASEAN centrality and called for ensuring a free, open and rules based Indo-Pacific