“India believes that the Code of Conduct for South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he said.
Reiterating the call for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, India had in June joined the Philippines in publicly asking China for the first time to abide by a 2016 legally binding ruling that strongly refuted Beijing’s expansive claims in its dispute with the south-east Asian country over South China Sea (SCS) waters. The Philippines, along with Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, has also protested China’s map displaying its disputed claims.
With the Myanmar crisis dominating the agenda of Asean, which has strongly condemned the “one-sided’’ violence perpetrated by the junta, Modi said India’s policy in Myanmar took into account Asean’s views. At the same time, he added, as a neighbouring country, ensuring peace and security on the borders and enhancing India-Asean connectivity was also India’s focus.
“Peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region is in the interest of us all,” Modi said. Unlike the West, India has not enthusiastically backed the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar mainly because of the insurgency in the north-east border areas and the need to cooperate with Myanmarese agencies in maintaining peace and stability there.
Modi also said there was unison in the vision of India and Asean for the Indo-Pacific and that Asean held a central position in the vision of Quad. “The positive agenda of Quad complements with the various mechanisms of Asean,” he said.