India, Indonesia call for code of conduct in South China Sea

New Delhi: India and Indonesia have pitched for a “full and effective” code of conduct in the South China Sea in accordance with the relevant international laws amid China’s increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

The situation in the South China Sea figured in wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday, according to a joint statement.

In their meeting, the two sides agreed to position a liaison officer from Indonesia at India’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).

The Indian Navy established the IFC-IOR in Gurugram in 2018 to keep track of shipping traffic as well as other critical developments in the region under a collaborative framework with like-minded countries.

Modi and Subianto, while strongly condemning terrorism in all its forms, vowed to enhance India-Indonesia anti-terror cooperation and called for concerted global efforts to combat the menace without any “double standards”.

Both the leaders called upon all countries to take concerted action against UN-proscribed terrorist organisations and their affiliates, the statement released on Sunday said.

The Indonesian president arrived here on Thursday on a four-day visit.

Subianto was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations at the majestic Kartavya Path on Sunday. In their talks, the prime minister and the visiting leader also explored ways to boost India-Indonesia

economic ties and emphasised the importance of expeditious implementation of an MoU inked by the two sides last year for the use of local currencies for bilateral transactions, according to the statement.

Modi and Subianto were of the view that the use of local currencies for bilateral transactions would further promote trade and deepen financial integration between the two economies.

The joint statement, referring to the situation in the maritime domain, said the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region.