PM Modi to travel to Manila for ASEAN-India and East Asia summits; maritime security, trade on agenda
The Prime Minister will be in the Philippines from November 16 to 18. The MEA said India will push for an early end to the review of its goods trade pact with ASEAN.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Manila from 16 to 18 November to attend the 23rd ASEAN-India Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon said the visit would begin with a dinner hosted by the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both summits to follow the next day. The Philippines holds the ASEAN chair this year.
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What India wants
Maritime cooperation will be a priority, Tandon said, pointing to the link between Southeast Asian waters and the Indian Ocean. India wants to improve maritime domain awareness, explore coordinated patrolling and work with ASEAN members against piracy and illegal fishing. Modi had designated 2026 as the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation at last year's summit, which he attended virtually.
On trade, India is seeking an early conclusion of the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement. Tandon acknowledged that building consensus among India and the ASEAN members was complex and slow, and said India was meanwhile pursuing trade facilitation with individual countries. India's trade with the region is about $122 billion.
He described ASEAN as a potential driving force for peace, stability and prosperity in the region, and said India would offer cooperation in digital public infrastructure, telecom and power-grid integration. The summit will also review the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the plan of action for 2026-2030.
Other issues
On the South China Sea, India's position is that the code of conduct being negotiated between ASEAN and China should be consistent with UNCLOS, the UN convention on the law of the sea. India also opposes isolating Myanmar and supports ASEAN's efforts to engage with it, The Tribune reported.
Bilateral meetings on the sidelines are still being worked out. With US President Donald Trump expected at the summit, there has been talk of a Quad-level engagement, but Tandon said no such programme had been finalised.
Why it matters
Southeast Asia is one of India's largest trading partners, and the push to speed up the goods trade review reflects long-standing concerns among Indian industry about the pact. With shipping in West Asia disrupted, stable sea lanes to the east also carry added weight for Indian trade.
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