At ASEAN meet, Modi seeks effective code of conduct for South China Sea

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, September 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for joint efforts to strengthen sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations while underlining India’s commitment to a code of conduct for South China Sea that is effective and compliant with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In the second of his two addresses in Jakarta, PM Modi also referred to ongoing military conflicts and reiterated that “today’s era is not of war”. The big challenges that confront the world are terrorism, extremism and geopolitical conflicts as well as important issues related to the global south.

“The need of the hour is an Indo-Pacific where international law, including UNCLOS, is equally applicable to all countries; there is freedom of navigation and overflight; and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of everyone. “India believes that the code of conduct for South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with the UNCLOS. Additionally, it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions,” said the Prime Minister.

The East Asia Summit includes the now 11-member ASEAN and eight other states—India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.

The US, India and China are guests at ASEAN and left most of the tough-talking to leaders of Malaysia and the Philippines, both ASEAN members. However, ASEAN leaders, including Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, made strong statements about territorial integrity at their ASEAN members-only meeting.