All You Need to Know About 19th ASEAN-India Summit

Context

Recently to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year, the Vice President of India addressed the 19th ASEAN-India relations.

Probable Question

The Indian Prime Minister in a statement said ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy, which focuses on the extended neighborhood in the Asia-Pacific region. Justify (10 marks, 150 words)

About the Highlights of the ASEAN- India Summit

• New dialogue platforms: It is to strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity, between the ASEAN member states and India.
• ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Its establishment has been declared in the summit, along with reaffirming the importance of “freedom of navigation and overflight” in the strategically important region.
• Capacity-building activities: Activities in digital transformation, digital trade, digital skills, and innovation, as well as Hackathons have been conducted by the India and ASEAN nations to enhance cooperation in the digital economy.
• Cooperation in smart agriculture: They would also enhance cooperation in smart agriculture including the exchange of best practices in the use of new technologies to develop a future-ready, resilient, and sustainable food supply.
• Building Smart cities: To build cities that are resilient, innovative, well-connected, and technologically advanced, the ASEAN nations and India will foster exchanges of best practices and capacity-building.
• Strengthen Healthcare: They will also strengthen healthcare for their people by increasing collaboration in public health, areas of research and development, and public health emergency.
• ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA): It is proposed to expedite the review of the AITIGA, to make it more user-friendly, simple, and trade-facilitative, and work together to forge resilient supply chains, and explore cooperation.
• Cooperation in the space sector: It would be enhanced through the establishment of tracking, data reception, and processing stations and encourage cooperation, and collaboration between ASEAN and Indian space industry players.
• Revival of Tourism and Related Industry: The member states of ASEAN and India decided to revive tourism and related industries through the effective implementation of the ASEAN-India tourism work plans.
• Resolution of Disputes: It should be resolved by following “universally recognized principles of international law, such as 
  • 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 
  • The relevant standards and recommended practices by the International Aviation Organisation (ICAO),
  • The International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Also Read: Quad Summit

About ASEAN 

• Full Form: ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
• Establishment: It was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
• Ten Member Countries:
  • Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. 
  • Other Member countries: Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
• Aims: To develop friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogues, cooperation, and partnerships with countries and sub-regional, regional and international organizations and institutions, that includes:
  • External partners, ASEAN entities, human rights bodies, non-ASEAN Member States Ambassadors to ASEAN, ASEAN committees in third countries and international organizations, as well as international/regional organizations.
• Chairmanship: They are appointed every year, from the Member States in alphabetical order of the English names. 

Read more: India-Japan: 14th Annual Summit

India’s Commitment to ASEAN

• To support a strong, unified, and prosperous ASEAN.
• To engage in equitable and sustainable trade which balances the aspirations of both partners.

India’s Link with ASEAN

• In this period of 30 years, the ASEAN-India relations have grown stronger in the deep civilizational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges.
• India is part of the ASEAN Plus Six grouping, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia as well.
• In 2010 a Free Trade Agreement was also signed and entered into force between India and ASEAN. 
• India supports ASEAN-centrality in the evolving regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Significance of India-ASEAN Cooperations

• The cultural economic and civilisational ties that have existed between India and ASEAN nations provides the strong foundation to build partnership in modern times.
• The ASEAN-India partnership will explore synergies with sub-regional groupings like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) among others.
• The deepen cooperation in the digitally supported agriculture sector ensure a “future-ready, resilient, sustainable food supply”.

News Source: The Indian Express

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/india-asean-countries-promise-to-boost-cooperation-against-terrorism-8264410/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-supports-asean-centrality-in-the-indo-pacific-region-vice-president-dhankhar-at-asean-india-summit/article66129671.ece

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