India, Asean Pledge Peace & Stability in Indo-Pacific

Table of Contents☰

The 19th ASEAN-India Summit was held recently in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. India was represented by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

ASEAN – India Summit

ASEAN-India Summits are held annually. It provides opportunity for India and ASEAN to engage at the highest level.
PM Modi attended the 18th ASEAN-India Summit held virtually in October 2021. This year’s summit is attended by the Vice President of India.

ASEAN and India became Summit-level partners in 2002, and Strategic partners in 2012.
There is ample closeness between India’s “Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative” and ASEAN’s “Outlook on Indo Pacific”.
India firmly believes that a “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN” is essential for “Security and Growth for All in the Region”.
The year 2022 marks 30 years of ASEAN-India relations and it has been designated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year by the leaders in October 2021.

In general, ASEAN is India’s 4th largest trading partner and India is ASEAN’s 7th largest trading partner accounting for 10.2% of India’s total trade.
India’s total trade with ASEAN from April 2021 to March 2022 was $78.90 billion. Balance of trade is highly favourable to ASEAN.
- On the other hand, ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner in 2020 and remains so.
- ASEAN’s total trade with China in for the period January to April 2022 amounted to $274.50 billion.
ASEAN and India have set a trade target of 200 billion USD by 2022.
Investment: Between 2000-2021 cumulative FDIs from ASEAN to India was $117.88 billion. These were mainly accounted for by Singaporean investments in India ($115 billion).
- Indian investment into ASEAN since April 2019 till March 2022 is US$ 55.5 billion out of which US$ 51.5 billion investment is in Singapore.
On trade and investment, the review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) has been long pending. India has called for an early review of the Agreement.
- AITIGA has been in place since 2010.

In November 2019, while participating in 14^th East Asia Summit (EAS), PM Modi launched the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
IPOI seeks to ensure security and stability of the regional maritime domain.
IPOI is an open, non-treaty-based initiative for countries to work together for cooperative and collaborative solutions to common challenges in the region.
IPOI draws on existing regional architecture and mechanisms to focus on seven pillars:
- Maritime Security
- Maritime Ecology
- Maritime Resources
- Capacity Building and Resource Sharing
- Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
- Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation
- Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport

In June 2019, the ten-member ASEAN has adopted the ‘ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific’.
It outlines the ASEAN’s concept and strategy of the Indo-Pacific.

Recently, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh. Cambodia, as the current Chair of ASEAN, hosted this Summit.

At the end of summit, both sides released a joint statement reaffirming the importance of
- maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety, freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region, and
- commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.
The joint declaration called for establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation against terrorism.
The ASEAN states appreciated India’s support for ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture.
It also appreciated India’s continued contribution to regional peace, security, and prosperity and to ASEAN integration and the ASEAN community-building process.
India and ASEAN 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.
They also called for deepening cooperation in military medicine.