Amid aggressive behaviour by China against its neighbours in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to intensify ‘practical cooperation’ with ASEAN countries in the maritime domain in the Indo-Pacific region even as he offered India’s expertise in key strategic areas to the vibrant South east Asian region.

”Maritime cooperation is an integral part of our discourse with ASEAN,” he said, underscoring the need for freedom of navigation in international maritime waters in accordance with international laws. His comments assume significance, given the fact that at least four of the ASEAN nations are involved in maritime disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Modi was opening the plenary session of the India-ASEAN commemorative summit at which leaders of all the ten ASEAN nations were present. The ASEAN leaders will be the ‘Guests of Honour’ at India’s Republic Day parade at Rajpath on Friday in an unprecedented expression of solidarity with India.

Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesia President Joko Widodo, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak, Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith are in India to participate in the Summit and the 69th Republic Day ceremony.

The PM recalled the age-old bonds between India and ASEAN countries and expressed confidence that ties between the two sides would be further strengthened in the coming years, especially in areas like tourism and connectivity. India shared the ASEAN vision for rule-based societies and values of peace. India’s ties with ASEAN countries were at the heart of New Delhi’s ‘Act East’ policy, he added.

In his capacity as co-chair of the summit, the Singapore Prime Minister said all the ASEAN countries were of the view that India was making a great contribution to regional affairs. India and ASEAN must further intensify economic and trade cooperation. He also called for giving a concrete and meaningful shape to India-ASEAN strategic partnership.

Modi and the ASEAN leaders also jointly released a commemorative stamp to mark the occasion.

Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind hosted a luncheon banquet in honour of the ASEAN leaders. This was followed by ‘Leaders’ Retreat’ at the Rashtrapati Bhavan which provided an informal setting to Modi and the ASEAN leaders to exchange views of various regional and global issues.

According to Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry, all the ASEAN leaders appreciated the PM’s speech made at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos earlier this week. They also observed that India’s engagement with ASEAN was essential for maintaining peace, stability and security in the region.