Republic day gathering: ASEAN seeks a more assertive India

The leaders lauded India’s growth story as it was “one of fastest growing economies” and the Modi government has undertaken “amazing reforms”, said the official.

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President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a group photograph with ASEAN Leaders. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)

Lauding India’s “positive role” in the Indo-Pacific amid China’s growing assertiveness, all ASEAN leaders on Friday expressed a desire for it to play a more assertive role to ensure “peace, stability and prosperity” in the region. This was disclosed by a senior Indian official who was part of bilateral talks between the visiting leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last two days.

The leaders lauded India’s growth story as it was “one of fastest growing economies” and the Modi government has undertaken “amazing reforms”, said the official.

Asked if ASEAN leaders favoured a more assertive role for India in the Indo-Pacific region, MEA’s secretary (east) Preeti Saran replied, “Yes.” Whether the leaders sought greater role from India in the wake of China’s growing expansionism in the Indo-Pacific, Saran said the India-ASEAN relationship stands on its own. “All the leaders conveyed their desire for a greater participation of India,” she said.

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The leaders on Thursday agreed to set up a mechanism on maritime cooperation to counter “traditional” and “non-traditional” challenges they face.

This idea evolved during a two-hour informal discussion on “maritime cooperation and security” hosted by Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On the challenge of terrorism, Saran said: “They (the ASEAN leaders) recognised the need for the menace to be fought collectively.”

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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