Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, strongly reiterated India’s dedication to freedom of navigation, overflight, and unimpeded lawful commerce in global waters through the laws” whilst addressing the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting and ADMM Plus, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The defence minister prolonged India’s dedication to result-oriented cooperation with ADMM-Plus to beautify maritime safety in the region.
The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States (collectively referred to as the “Plus Countries”), to beef up safety and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and improvement in the region.
The defence minister stated “There is no way to peace, peace is the solely way,” quoting Mahatma Gandhi at some point of his address, and clearing India’s message of “this is now not an generation of war.”
The defence minister vocalised “Dialogue and diplomacy” to get to the bottom of issues. Highlighting the giant variety of casualties, observed via humanitarian crises, such as poverty, instability, and hunger, Singh similarly emphasised India’s aid for the collective effort to preserve and uphold safety in the ASEAN region.
Upholding the ties between India and the ASEAN Member States, Singh signified a variety of initiatives such as the Initiative for Women in UN Peacekeeping Operations, and the Initiative for Marine Plastic Pollution Response. In phrases of defence cooperation, Singh hailed the participation of the first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise in May this year, as properly as in the Expert Working Group (EWG) on Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) activities, of which India and Indonesia are co-chairs in the contemporary 2020-2023 cycle.