New Delhi (TIP): India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Thursday, Nov 12,  emphasised the need to build on convergences and synergy to maintain peace and security in the Indo-Pacific, against the backdrop of China’s growing assertiveness across the region.

The situation in the South China Sea, where China is engaged in disputes with several Asean members, and all regional issues of concern figured in the discussions during the Asean-India Summit that was co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Vietnam is the current chair of Asean.

“India and Asean share a vast maritime space in the Indo-Pacific and Asean is at the centre of this space. There is great convergence and synergy between our visions of the Indo-Pacific as articulated in the Asean outlook for the Indo-Pacific and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative,” said secretary (East) Riva Ganguly Das of the external affairs ministry.

“We seek to build on this convergence for maintaining peace, security and sustainable development of the Indo-Pacific and ensuring security and growth for all in the region,” she told a news briefing after the summit.

While addressing the summit, Modi underlined the centrality of Asean in India’s “Act East” policy and said a cohesive and prosperous Asean is also central to India’s Indo-Pacific vision. He called for strengthening convergence between India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and Asean’s outlook on Indo-Pacific to “ensure a free, open, inclusive and rules-based” region.

PM Modi announced a contribution of $1 million to the Covid-19 Asean Response Fund and reiterated New Delhi’s offer of a $1-billion line of credit to support connectivity between Asean states. He also called for an early review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement.

Asked specifically if China’s aggressive actions, which have affected both India and Asean states, had figured in the summit, Ganguly Das said all regional issues of concern were discussed, including the situation in the South China Sea.