NEW DELHI: India is fully committed to freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in international waters in accordance with global norms, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, days after he publicly referred to China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific.The Asean and its dialogue partners should "actively collaborate" to ensure peace, prosperity and security in the region, with all adhering to international norms like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, Singh said, addressing Asean defence ministers' meeting-plus (ADMM-Plus) at Jakarta."Dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward for global peace and stability," Singh said, amid the renewed heightened tensions in the South China Sea due to China's strongarm expansionist tactics against its smaller neighbours as well as the continuing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh.Reaffirming India's message to the world at large that "this is not an era of war", Singh underlined the imperative to give up the "us versus them" mindset.
He called for regional security initiatives that are "consultative and development-oriented to reflect the larger consensus among various stakeholders".India, he said, was committed towards "nurturing practical, forward-looking - result-oriented cooperation" with ADMM for enhancing maritime security in the region.Apart from the 10 Asean countries, ADMM-Plus includes India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia - US as dialogue partners.
China - Russia were represented by senior officials instead of defence ministers at the meet.Indo-Pacific is critical to security, prosperity of Americans US VP Kamala Harris welcomes APEC leadersSingh held a brief conversation with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, on the sidelines of the meeting, to review the "tremendous progress" in bilateral strategic ties as well as ways to strengthen their efforts towards "Asean centrality in the Indo-Pacific" and a more secure region and world, an official said.