Rajnath Singh stresses on unimpeded lawful commerce in international waters

The defence minister also held bilateral meetings with his Indonesian and Vietnamese counterparts on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Jakarta, where they spoke about deepening cooperation in multiple areas, including the maritime domain.

The ADMM-Plus comprises 10-nation ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners including India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992. Indonesia is the current chair of ADMM-Plus.

Singh said India is committed to freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in the international waters in accordance with international laws, including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

He reaffirmed India’s message to the world at large, that “this is not an era of war”, and spoke about the imperative to give up the “us versus them” mindset.

He spoke about India’s resolve to work with the ASEAN and its partner countries to ensure peace, prosperity and security in the region, citing Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “There is no way to peace, peace is the only way”.

The defence minister’s comments came a day after Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar had said the fragile security situation in the South China Sea, in addition to violations of established Codes of Conduct or Confidence Building Measures, poses a clear and present danger to good order and discipline at sea.

Rajnath described terrorism as a serious threat to international peace and security and called for concerted efforts to deal with it.

Speaking about ASEAN’s centrality and its role in promoting dialogue and consensus in the region, he called for regional security initiatives that are consultative and development-oriented, adding that they should reflect the larger consensus among various stakeholders. He added that India is committed towards nurturing practical, forward-looking and result-oriented cooperation with ADMM-Plus for enhancing maritime security in the region.

He spoke about the consequences of conflicts, highlighting the “terrible toll” in terms of human lives and livelihoods and adverse implications for food and energy security.