Joint Statement on Strengthening ASEAN India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region in the context of the ASEAN Outlook on the[...]

WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of India, gathered on the occasion of the 21st ASEAN-India Summit on 10 October 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR;

REAFFIRMING our commitment to promote the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, guided by the fundamental principles, shared values and norms that have steered the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations since its establishment in 1992, including those enunciated in the Vision Statement of ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit (2012), the Delhi Declaration of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to mark the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations (2018), the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region (2021), the Joint Statement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2022), the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation (2023) and ASEAN-India Joint Leaders' Statement on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises (2023);

WELCOMING the Decade of Act East Policy of India, where ASEAN is at the heart and of utmost priority, which has contributed to advancing ASEAN-India relations through cooperation in areas of political-security, economic, cultural and people-to-people relations;

ACKNOWLEDGING the deep civilisational linkages and cross-cultural exchanges, facilitated through both land and maritime routes between Southeast Asia and India, encompassing the various seas and oceans of the Indo-Pacific, providing a strong foundation for the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership;

WELCOMING the activities and initiatives held in the year 2024 on the occasion of the decade of Act East Policy to further strengthen the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership;

RECOGNISING India's support for ASEAN Centrality and unity in the evolving regional architecture and its commitment to work closely through ASEAN-led mechanisms and fora including the ASEAN-India Summit, East Asia Summit (EAS), Post Ministerial Conference with India (PMC+1), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) and Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF) as well as support to ASEAN integration and the ASEAN Community building process including Master Plan for ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP);

NOTING the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution A/RES/78/69 which emphasises, in the Preamble, the universal and unified character of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and reaffirms that the Convention sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of strategic importance as the basis for national, regional and global action and cooperation in the marine sector, and that its integrity needs to be maintained;

APPRECIATING efforts towards implementation of the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region through trust and confidence based on shared democratic values, strong belief in sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a shared commitment to the rule of law and the principles of the UN Charter;

REAFFIRMING our commitment to upholding multilateralism, the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and respect for international law, while recognising ASEAN's rising global relevance and unique convening power amid the emerging multipolar global architecture and noting the growing and active role of India in major international economic and political affairs.

Do hereby declare to

1. Reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas, including unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, and the relevant standards and recommended practices by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 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) in its entirety and look forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS;

2. Build on ongoing collaboration in defense and security within the framework of ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Plus, including the first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) in 2023 and co-chairmanship of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Counter-Terrorism (2024-2027), as well as noting the two initiatives announced at the ASEAN-India Defence Ministers' Informal Meeting in 2022;

3. Strengthen cooperation in maritime security, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, military medicine, transnational crime, defence industry, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping and demining operations and confidence building measures. This will be achieved through the exchange of visits, joint military exercise, maritime exercise, port calls by naval ships and defence scholarships;

4. Advance the implementation of ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation and continue to cooperate on areas such as maritime security, blue economy, sustainable fisheries, marine environmental protection, marine biodiversity, and climate change issues, among others;

5. Promote and work towards the strengthening of multilateralism through the UN and the multilateral processes to address global concerns, pursue shared goals and complementary initiatives, and promote sustainable development for the benefit of our peoples;

6. Build on the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the AOIP for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region by advancing cooperation between the AOIP and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI);

7. Expedite the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make it more effective, user-friendly, simple, and trade-facilitative for businesses and relevant to the current global trading practices and promote mutually beneficial arrangements and strengthen economic cooperation between ASEAN and India;

8. Promote diverse, secure, transparent and resilient supply chains while exchanging information on identifying and proactively addressing potential risks in supply chains in areas of mutual interest to promote sustainable development;

9. Cooperate on emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain technology, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Quantum Computing, 6-G technology, building and strengthening of startups ecosystem with special emphasis on digital connectivity and financial technology;

10. Welcome the launch of the ASEAN-India Fund for Digital Future to support joint activities;

11. Cooperate to unlock the full potential of safe, secure, responsible, trustworthy AI by promoting international cooperation and further discussions on international governance for AI, considering that the rapid progress of AI has the potential for prosperity and expansion of the global digital economy. We should endeavor to leverage AI for public good by solving challenges in a responsible, inclusive and human-centric manner while protecting people's rights and safety;

12. Note the proposal to celebrate the year 2025 as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism to further strengthen people-to-people ties while recognising the crucial role of tourism in promoting sustainable socioeconomic development and economic prosperity, and as one of the vehicles for achieving the SDGs. In this endeavour, we support the implementation of the ASEAN-India Tourism Cooperation Work Plan 2023-2027, and to explore deeper cooperation to support joint programs for tourism education, training and research to build capacity and ensure a high-quality tourism industry. We also encourage the expansion of business networks among travel stakeholders, the practice of sustainable and responsible tourism, as well as the exchange of tourism trends and information. In addition, we support the enhancement of crisis communications, promotion of tourism investment opportunities, as well as development and joint promotion of niche markets, cruise tourism and tourism standards;

13. Strengthen health systems by enhancing collaboration on public health including, inter alia, in the areas of research and development (R&D), public health emergency preparedness, training of healthcare professionals, medical technology, pharmaceuticals, vaccine security and self-reliance, vaccine development and production, as well as general and traditional medicine;

14. Enhance cooperation in the field of environment, including biodiversity and climate change as well as explore cooperation in the field of energy security, including cooperation on clean, renewable, and low-carbon energy in line with the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2021-2025 and India's renewable energy priorities, as well as other national models and priorities such as bio-circular-green development;

15. Promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure systems through knowledge sharing and best practices, capacity building and technical assistance, which can be pursued such as through the framework of Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as well as the proposed Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center) and National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) of India;

16. Enhance connectivity between ASEAN and India in line with the "Connecting the Connectivities" approach, by exploring synergies between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and its successor document, the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan (ACSP) and India's connectivity initiatives in the region under India's Act East Policy and Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision to ensure seamless connectivity in the Indo-Pacific by collaborating for quality, sustainable and resilient infrastructure and enhancing cooperation in transport in land, air, and maritime domains including through the early completion and operationalisation of the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway while looking forward to its eastward extension to Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam;

17. Stressing the importance of strengthening multilateralism and comprehensive reform of the multilateral global governance architecture, including the United Nations and international financial architecture, international financial institutions, and multilateral development banks, to make them fit for purpose, democratic, equitable, representative and responsive to the current global realities and the needs and aspirations of the Global South;

18. Call for an inclusive and balanced international agenda, that responds to the concerns and priorities of the Global South, recognising that the principle of 'Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities' (CBDR-RC) within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) applies to all relevant global challenges;

19. Explore potential synergies with sub-regional frameworks, such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), Singapore-Johor-Riau (SIJORI) Growth Triangle, Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), and Mekong sub-regional cooperation frameworks, including Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and Ayeyawady Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), and to support ASEAN and India's efforts in promoting equitable development by aligning sub-regional growth with the comprehensive, mutual growth and development of ASEAN and India;

20. Continue to work together on regional and global issues of common concern while endeavouring to strengthen our partnership through the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

***

MJPS/SR/SKS