PM Modi meets Suu Kyi, Asean meet today

New Delhi: The stage is set for the much-anticipated Asean-India Commemorative Summit on Thursday in New Delhi to mark 25 years of Indo-Asean cooperation during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold multilateral talks with the leaders of the 10 Asean nations. Till late on Wednesday evening, eight of the 10 Asean leaders had already landed in New Delhi. These were Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Cambodian PM Hun Sen, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong, Brunei Sultan (ruler) Hassanal Bolkiah, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Thailand PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and Malaysian PM Najib Razak. They were welcomed warmly on their arrival by various Union ministers. Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith is expected to arrive later Wednesday night while Indonesian President Joko Widodo will arrive by noon on Thursday.

Late on Wednesday evening, Mr Modi met Myanmar’s State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc in separate bilateral meetings. Mr Modi is also expected to meet Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in another bilateral meeting due late Wednesday evening.

MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted: “PM @narendramodi met with State Counsellor of Myanmar Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The two leaders had a productive discussion on intensifying bilateral cooperation, including follow-up on key decisions taken during PM’s visit to Myanmar in September, 2017.”

On the bilateral meeting with the Vietnamese PM, the spokesman tweeted: “Long standing traditional & strategic partnership! PM @narendramodi met with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Discussed cooperation in trade and investment, defence, maritime and other areas. Agreements were signed in areas of information & broadcasting and space cooperation.”

“Maritime Security and Cooperation” will be the theme of the main retreat session at Rashtrapati Bhavan between Mr Modi and the 10 Asean leaders. The theme is significant, given the Chinese naval assertiveness in the South China Sea. Mr Modi will also interact with the Asean leaders during a “Walk in the Mughal Gardens” of Rashtrapati Bhavan after the retreat session. A plenary session on Thursday evening will conclude the official deliberations at the summit on the theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny”. The issue of terrorism is also expected to be discussed in detail at the summit. India is also eyeing the Asean region as a “vibrant economic commercial space”.

The retreat session in the afternoon will be preceded by a lunch hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind for the Asean leaders at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Later, commemorative stamps will also be released by Mr Modi on Thursday evening in the presence of the Asean leaders. At the end of the plenary session on Thursday evening, there will be a cultural programme organised followed by a banquet hosted by Mr Modi in honour of the Asean leaders.

On Friday, the 10 Asean leaders and their spouses will witness India’s Republic Day parade at Rajpath. In the evening, they will attend the President’s “At Home” reception at the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

But it will be the theme of the main retreat session — “Maritime Security and Cooperation” — that is being viewed with much interest. China has maritime disputes with a few Asean nations, including Vietnam and the Philippines, apart from Japan outside the Asean bloc. China has however improved its ties with the Philippines in recent times but the Asean countries, as a whole, remain wary of the Chinese military might. The Asean nations seem therefore keen that India plays a greater role in the region. Just recently, top naval officers of India, Japan, the United States and Australia shared the stage during the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi. The four countries had earlier held consultations as part of a proposed “Quadrilateral” which observers say is meant to keep a check on Chinese military prowess in the region.