New Delhi (NVI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said that the ASEAN members need to address threats to rules based order, maritime security, cyber related crimes and terrorism, while taking an indirect dig at China for its aggressive military behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
While addressing a virtual gathering of the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus), that was joined by his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, Rajnath said that exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoiding actions that may further complicate situation will go a long way in bringing sustained regional peace.
Rajnath and Wei Fenghe were virtually face-to-face today after their earlier meeting in Moscow this year to resolve the border dispute between the two countries.
Despite several rounds of diplomatic and military level talks between India and China, the two sides have not arrived at a concrete outcome yet to resolve the situation. Around 50,000 troops of the Indian Army are currently deployed along the LAC, as a mirror deployment against the as many Chinese troops.
In his address, Rajnath said that terrorism remains a major scourge for the region and world, while not directly mentioning Pakistan.
He reiterated that the structures that support and sustain terrorism continue to exist, including in India’s neighbourhood. He called for stronger commitment and need to strengthen the international mechanism to fight terrorism, jointly and vigorously, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
During his, Rajnath also underlined the key role of ASEAN-centric forum in promoting dialogue and engagement towards a pluralistic, cooperative security order in Asia. He highlighted the collective achievements of ADMM Plus in the past decade in advancing multilateral cooperation through strategic dialogue and practical security engagements.
He complimented the achievements of the seven Expert Working Groups in sharing best practices in key domains including Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Counter-terrorism and Peace Keeping Operations.
ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN Countries and eight partner countries. This year marks the 10th year of inception of ADMM Plus forum.
-ARK
