10th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Indonesia

Ministers of Defence On November 16, 2023, Shri Rajnath Singh attended the 10th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting - Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Jakarta, Indonesia. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of ASEAN and praised its role in encouraging discussion and consensus in the region. He also reiterated India's commitment to unimpeded navigation, overflight, and legal trade in international waters in accordance with international standards, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).  He also praised ASEAN Member States' active participation in the inaugural ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, which took place in May this year, as well as the Expert Working Group (EWG) on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) activities, which India and Indonesia co-chair in the current 2020-2023 cycle.

ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting - Plus (ADMM-Plus)

• ADMM-Plus is the sole recognised framework for Defence Minister meetings in the Asia-Pacific region. 
• The ADMM-Plus serves as a venue for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners, which are Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States are among the countries represented.
• The ADMM-Plus was established by a resolution agreed at the 2nd ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Singapore in 2007.
• The inaugural ADMM-Plus meeting took place on October 12, 2010 in 

Hanoi, Vietnam.

• Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus has met on an annual basis to facilitate greater conversation and collaboration between ASEAN and the Plus Countries in the wake of an increasingly complex regional security environment.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• The international agreement known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was acquired in 1982.
• It is sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea.
• It categorises maritime regions into five major zones: internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and high seas.
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea took effect in 1994, replacing the Quad Treaty 1958 Convention on the High Seas. 
• It was later joined by 167 nations and the European Union in 2016. India ratified the treaty in 1995 after signing it in 1982. 
• Despite being accepted and signed by almost all South China Sea coastline nations, UNCLOS's interpretation is still up for debate.
• There is also a maritime conflict in the East China Sea.

ASEAN

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in 1967 by the government of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore.
• Its mission is to promote economic growth, peace, security, social advancement, and cultural development across Southeast Asia.
• Foundation - August 8, 1967
• Motto-One Vision, One Identity, One Community
• ASEAN Day - 8th August
• ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.