New Delhi: In a strong message to China, India and ASEAN Thursday called for a “full and effective” implementation of the understanding between the parties involved in the South China Sea dispute, while stressing on maritime security and freedom of navigation in the critical sea lanes.
The reaffirmation came after the two sides discussed ways to boost maritime security, connectivity and trade with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that India shares the ASEAN vision for rules-based order for oceans and seas, and pitched for freedom of navigation in the region.
During the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, which saw highest-level of participation from the 10 member-countries of the grouping, the leaders also agreed to deepen cooperation in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including by countering cross border movement of terrorists.
The two sides issued a ‘Delhi Declaration’ that also pitched for an early conclusion of the ‘Code of Conduct’ in the South China Sea. China is involved in a territorial dispute with several countries including Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The 7-page declaration reaffirmed “the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and over flight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes.”
It should be in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the relevant standards and recommended practices by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), it said.
“In this regard, we support the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and look forward to an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC),” the declaration said.
The summit was attended by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Thailand’s Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o- cha, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Lao PDR’s Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.
PTI
