'India, ASEAN must work together for maritime security in region'

New Delhi: The maiden India-ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting was held in Cambodia on Tuesday during which Defence Minister Rajnath Singh proposed two major initiatives for further expanding the scope and the depth of defence ties.

The meeting, jointly chaired by Singh and his Cambodian counterpart, General Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh, was held at Siem Reap to mark the 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN relations in 2022, which has also been designated as 'ASEAN-India Friendship Year', the defence ministry said in a statement here.

Singh, in his address, highlighted the historic and robust ties that India shares with ASEAN countries. He also conveyed India's continued advocacy for a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific while also suggesting the need for India and ASEAN to work together for maritime security in the region, it said.

The India-ASEAN relationship was elevated recently to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the ASEAN-India Summit held in Cambodia on November 12.

The meeting was co-chaired by Singh and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Cambodia General Tea Banh. It preceded the 9th ASEAN-Defence Ministers Meeting

(ADMM) Plus scheduled to take place Wednesday, the statement said.

Singh emphasised that the centrality of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region is the "cornerstone" of India's Act East Policy. During this maiden India-ASEAN Defence Ministers meeting, Singh proposed two major initiatives for further expanding the scope and the depth of the India-ASEAN defence relations.

One of the initiatives proposed by Singh was the 'India-ASEAN Initiative for Women in UN Peace Keeping Operations' and the second initiative was 'India-ASEAN Initiative on Marine Plastic Pollution.'