"India is a major new power in the World, its views
are of serious import to theglobal community and our Asean and national
realties. The Indian view of the SCS controversy is that the Code of
Conduct on the South China Sea must be firmed up by Consensus. It is a
wise counsel and an Asian approach, unlike the U.S. which insists to
"lord it over" and have its way... towing its vassal state along, i.e.
the Philippines. - HTL
=====
India favours early conclusion of Code of Conduct on South China Sea by Consensus
By IDR News Network
04 Nov , 2015
The Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar today expressed India’s hope that all parties
to the disputes in the South China Sea region will abide by the 2002
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, ensure its
effective implementation and work together to ensure a peaceful
resolution of disputes.
Addressing
the 3rd ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-plus) at Kuala Lumpur
Manohar Parrikar said the situation in the South China Sea and recent
developments there have attracted interest and concern. “This is natural
since freedom of navigation in international waters, the right of
passage and overflight, unimpeded commerce and access to resources in
accordance with recognized principles of international law including the
1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, are of concern to all of us”,
he stated. He also hoped that the Code of Conduct on the South China
Sea would be concluded at an early date by consensus.
Following is the full text of the Defence Minister’s address:
“I am honoured
to represent India at the 3rd Meeting of the ADMM-Plus. My delegation is
grateful for the outstanding hospitality extended to us since our
arrival yesterday. I would also like to thank our host, Malaysia, for
the excellent arrangements made for this meeting.
In a short span
of time since its foundation in 2010, the ADMM-Plus has emerged as a
compact and useful forum for discussing security issues among officials
of the Ministries of Defence of our region. Our meetings at the level of
ministers and other activities undertaken under the aegis of the
ADMM-Plus are contributing to greater trust and confidence within the
region.
2015 is an
important year for the ASEAN. We congratulate ASEAN on its impressive
achievements and wish the ASEAN Community greater success. 2015 is also
the 10th anniversary of the EAST Asia Summit, whose membership footprint
matches with that of ours.
ASEAN is at the
heart of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and is central to our dream of an
Asian century. As neighbours and as countries belonging to the same
region, India and ASEAN member states face common security challenges
both traditional and non-traditional. The overriding priority for all of
us is development and the transformation of the lives of our people. A
peaceful and stable regional and international security environment is
critical to our goal.
India has been
working bilaterally and multilaterally with all the States represented
here to enhance the security and stability of the region from the Indian
Ocean to the Pacific. Our efforts include joint military exercises in
areas such as disaster response and humanitarian assistance, training
and capacity building in areas such as navigational safety and cyber
security, exchange of perspectives and cooperation on counter terrorism
and support for ASEAN-led initiatives for security cooperation.
ASEAN has also
led useful and constructive discussions in the past couple of years on
the regional security architecture. India was pleased to co-host with
Cambodia, the 4th Workshop on the Regional Security Architecture in July
this year. We welcome the very useful and constructive ideas presented
by Indonesia, Thailand, China, Russia, Japan and others and we share the
common assessment that any future framework must be centered on the
18-member EAS as a premier leaders-led forum for dialogue on strategic
issues thereby reinforcing ASEAN’s centrality in the evolving
architecture. India would like to see a closer relationship between the
EAS and the ADMM-Plus.
The five areas
of cooperation that we have identified for work in the ADMM-Plus,
namely, HADR, maritime security, military medicine, counter terrorism
and peace-keeping operations – have progressed well through the
mechanism of Expert Working Groups (EWG). India was honoured to co-Chair
within Vietnam the EWG on the new area of humanitarian mine action last
year. We look forward to hosting ADMM-Plus experts in the joint
Humanitarian Mine Action and UN peacekeeping Operations Field Training
Exercise in March 2016 in India in Pune. Going forward, we should give
thought to future areas of cooperation and dialogue beyond the 2014-17
cycle. In this regard, I propose that we look at the welfare of
ex-servicemen and veterans as an area of exchange of national
experiences.
We are all
concerned with the persistent threat of terrorism and radicalism. There
can be no justification for acts of terrorism and we have to work
resolutely to choke off recruitments, funding and arms for terrorists.
We commend Malaysia’s initiative on Global Movement of Moderates and
other efforts to combat radicalisation.
Maritime
security is again a common challenge. The seas and oceans in our region
are critical enablers of our prosperity. The situation in the South
China Sea and recent developments there have attracted interest and
concern. This is natural since freedom of navigation in international
waters, the right of passage and overflight, unimpeded commerce and
access to resources in accordance with recognized principles of
international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea, are of concern to all of us. India hopes that all parties to the
disputes in the South China Sea region will abide by the 2002
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, ensure its
effective implementation, and work together to ensure a peaceful
resolution of disputes. We also hope that the Code of Conduct on the
South China Sea would be concluded at an early date by consensus.
Let me conclude
by assuring you, Mr Chairman, and all my colleagues in the ADMM-Plus
our full cooperation in achieving the objectives we have set for this
forum. We wish Malaysia all the very best with the Summits you would be
hosting shortly.
I thank you for your attention.”
© Copyright 2015 Indian Defence Review
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