(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: India, ASEAN Summit: Enhancing Ties

Topic: India, ASEAN Summit: Enhancing Ties

Guest:

Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, (Former Ambassador)
Dr. Sreeram Chaulia, (Foreign Affairs Expert)
Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, (Foreign Affairs Editor, Hindustan Times)

Topic Description:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said enhancing all kinds of connectivity, including in social, digital and financial spheres, with the 10-nation ASEAN grouping is a major priority for India. He made the remarks at a virtual summit between India and the ASEAN. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners. The summit took place amid China’s aggressive behaviour in the disputed South China Sea as well as in eastern Ladakh. A number of ASEAN countries have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. The ties between India and ASEAN have been on an upswing in the last few years with focus being on ramping up cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence. The ASEAN region along with India together comprises a combined population of 1.85 billion people, which is one fourth of the global population and their combined GDP has been estimated at over USD 3.8 trillion.