India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Saturday agreed to expand their bilateral relations to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the conclusion of the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh, according to a joint statement.
The 10-nation intergovernmental ASEAN bloc comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
During his remarks at the meeting, Indian vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar said that there is a need to expand bilateral cooperation and “deepen strategic trust” between the two sides to “navigate the sheer uncertain geopolitical landscape”.
“Our comprehensive strategic partnership should provide a path for this,” the Indian vice-president remarked.
According to the joint statement, both sides said that they would “explore cooperation in the areas of energy security” including collaboration in areas of green and other forms of low-carbon energy.
The statement also said that both the sides will also increase cooperation in the area of agriculture to ensure “resilient and sustainable food supply”.
The two sides have also vowed to enhance cooperation in spheres of connectivity across land, sea and water. The joint statement called for “early operationalization” of the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway and its extension to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
New Delhi and countries of the ASEAN bloc have both expressed concerns over high energy and food prices which has jacked up inflation across the developing world as countries in the West seek to phase out Russian commodities from the international market in the wake of the special military operation in Ukraine.
The joint statement also reaffirmed India’s support for maintaining “ASEAN centrality” to the regional security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region and called for advancing maritime cooperation in spheres of security, countering piracy and deepening collaboration in responding to humanitarian emergencies in the region.
New Delhi also reaffirmed its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in reaching a “peaceful settlement” to prevailing maritime disputes. Several ASEAN states, including the Philippines and Vietnam, are embroiled in maritime disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.
A UNCLOS tribunal based in the Hague rejected Beijing’s maritime claims in the South China Sea after the Philippines moved the international court. However, Beijing has rejected the ruling. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi this month cautioned against the “the abuse of arbitration" regarding maritime disputes and urged the south-east Asian states to “resist” outside interference in the region, an allusion to criticism by Washington against Beijing’s maritime claims.
Growing geopolitical tensions between China and the US have emerged as a major concern for the south-east Asian states, more so after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi controversially visited Taiwan in August. In response, Beijing conducted its biggest live fire and hypersonic missile drills around Taiwan.