Prime Minister Narendra Modi strengthened India's commitment to Southeast Asian partnerships during his virtual address to the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, declaring 2026 as the "ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation" while reaffirming the nation's Act East policy.
Addressing regional leaders, Modi made a powerful declaration: "Ikkiswi sadi hamaari sadi hai. Bharat aur ASEAN ki sadi hai" (The 21st century is our century. It is the century of India and ASEAN). This statement underscored India's vision of shared prosperity and strategic alignment with the ten-member Southeast Asian bloc.
The Prime Minister connected India's long-term development goals with regional ambitions by linking the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 with India's Viksit Bharat 2047 initiative. This alignment signals India's intention to position itself as an integral partner in Southeast Asia's economic and strategic landscape over the next two decades.
Maritime cooperation has emerged as a critical pillar of India-ASEAN relations, given the region's dependence on secure sea lanes for trade and energy supplies. The Indian Ocean and South China Sea remain vital arteries for global commerce, making collaborative approaches to maritime security, sustainable fishing, and blue economy initiatives increasingly important.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar accompanied India's diplomatic engagement at the summit, holding crucial discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Their meeting addressed sensitive bilateral issues including India's purchases of Russian oil and America's strategic relationship with Pakistan—topics that have periodically strained Indo-US relations.
The timing of Modi's maritime cooperation announcement is significant. As China expands its naval presence across the Indo-Pacific region, India has sought to deepen security partnerships with ASEAN nations who share concerns about freedom of navigation and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
India's Act East policy, originally conceived as Look East under previous governments, has evolved into a comprehensive engagement strategy encompassing trade, defence, cultural exchanges, and infrastructure development. Several ASEAN countries participate in India's naval exercises, and bilateral trade has grown substantially over the past decade.
The designation of an entire year for maritime cooperation suggests concrete initiatives will follow, potentially including joint patrols, information sharing mechanisms, capacity building programmes for smaller ASEAN navies, and collaborative approaches to combating piracy and illegal fishing.
Modi's participation, though virtual, demonstrated India's prioritization of ASEAN relationships despite competing diplomatic demands. The summit brought together leaders from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei to discuss regional challenges including economic integration, climate change, and security threats.
As India positions itself as a leading power in the Indo-Pacific, deeper maritime cooperation with ASEAN represents both strategic necessity and economic opportunity, potentially reshaping regional security architecture for decades to come.
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