Expressing concern over the “spreading tide of extremism and terrorism”, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Thursday said such threats required strong cooperation among like-minded nations. He said the need for maintaining safety of sea lanes, which was critical for maritime trade and commerce, maritime security and access to marine resources, continued to assume greater significance as countries in the ASEAN region strived for greater economic integration.
Expanding on the issue, which came for special mention in his speech on “India, Thailand and ASEAN: Contours of a Rejuvenated Relationship” delivered to academics at Chulalongkorn University here, Ansari said, “Non-traditional threats such as piracy, smuggling, trans-national crimes and drug trafficking are on the rise and pose a challenge for our countries and require strong and determined coordinated action.” There was a need, he added, to protect all trade routes and sea lanes of communication from both traditional and non-traditional threats and “all countries using these international waters must act with responsibility and restraint”.
Ansari, who is himself a former diplomat, had a word of advice on tension in the South China Sea. “The evolving situation in the South China Sea demands restraint from all parties. We support collective efforts by ASEAN member states and China to conclude the code of conduct to keep peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Emphasising on the importance of India’s relations with ASEAN, Ansari announced a slew of measures India was taking to deepen relations with this region. These include enhancing the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund from the current $1 million to $5 million in near future, setting up of an ASEAN-India innovation platform to facilitate commercialisation of low-cost technologies, collaborative research and development projects, implementation of a $21.53-million project on establishment of a tracking and data reception station and data processing facility for ASEAN at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, upgrading the station at Biak (Indonesia) and training ASEAN personnel in space science and technology at Dehradun.
Stating that connectivity with ASEAN in all its dimensions (physical, institutional and people-to-people) continued to be a strategic priority for India, Ansari said special efforts were being made to develop a coherent strategy, particularly for linking ASEAN and North-East India. This means that in some years Indians and residents of ASEAN nations would be able to drive all the way to Vietnam through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia in the east and Singapore via Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia in the south east. Negotiations on the India-Myanmar-Thailand Motor Vehicles Agreement and the ASEAN-India Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement have already been finalised, while the ASEAN-India Civil Aviation Task Force is expected to oversee optimisation of air connectivity.
Ansari said despite rapid growth of the Indian and Thai economies, bilateral trade and investment remained modest.
Expanding on the issue, which came for special mention in his speech on “India, Thailand and ASEAN: Contours of a Rejuvenated Relationship” delivered to academics at Chulalongkorn University here, Ansari said, “Non-traditional threats such as piracy, smuggling, trans-national crimes and drug trafficking are on the rise and pose a challenge for our countries and require strong and determined coordinated action.” There was a need, he added, to protect all trade routes and sea lanes of communication from both traditional and non-traditional threats and “all countries using these international waters must act with responsibility and restraint”.
Ansari, who is himself a former diplomat, had a word of advice on tension in the South China Sea. “The evolving situation in the South China Sea demands restraint from all parties. We support collective efforts by ASEAN member states and China to conclude the code of conduct to keep peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Emphasising on the importance of India’s relations with ASEAN, Ansari announced a slew of measures India was taking to deepen relations with this region. These include enhancing the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund from the current $1 million to $5 million in near future, setting up of an ASEAN-India innovation platform to facilitate commercialisation of low-cost technologies, collaborative research and development projects, implementation of a $21.53-million project on establishment of a tracking and data reception station and data processing facility for ASEAN at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, upgrading the station at Biak (Indonesia) and training ASEAN personnel in space science and technology at Dehradun.
Stating that connectivity with ASEAN in all its dimensions (physical, institutional and people-to-people) continued to be a strategic priority for India, Ansari said special efforts were being made to develop a coherent strategy, particularly for linking ASEAN and North-East India. This means that in some years Indians and residents of ASEAN nations would be able to drive all the way to Vietnam through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia in the east and Singapore via Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia in the south east. Negotiations on the India-Myanmar-Thailand Motor Vehicles Agreement and the ASEAN-India Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement have already been finalised, while the ASEAN-India Civil Aviation Task Force is expected to oversee optimisation of air connectivity.
Ansari said despite rapid growth of the Indian and Thai economies, bilateral trade and investment remained modest.
