At summit, India & ASEAN reaffirm importance of freedom of navigation

The two sides agreed to advance maritime ties and enhance cooperation against terrorism, transnational crimes and cybercrimes.

India ASEAN summit, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Dhankhar Asean summit, India China relations, ASEAN countries, Indian Express, India news, current affairs

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar with Cambodia King Norodom Sihamoni in Phnom Penh on Saturday. PTI

In an oblique reference to China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, India and the ASEAN countries on Saturday reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and peaceful resolution of disputes.

This was stated in the joint statement of the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar is representing India at the summit.

The two sides agreed to advance maritime ties and enhance cooperation against terrorism, transnational crimes and cybercrimes.

The joint statement said that they reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with the principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They also agreed to “enhance cooperation against terrorism and transnational crimes including international economic crimes and money laundering, cybercrime, drugs and human trafficking and arms smuggling,” the statement said.

Dhankhar and Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties, including in areas such as human resource, de-mining and development projects.

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This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’.

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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