GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
STARREDQUESTION NO: 295
ANSWERED ON: 14.12.2011
TALKS AT ASEAN AND EAST ASIA SUMMITS
RAJIV RANJAN (LALAN) SINGH
ANANT KUMAR HEGDE
(a) whether the Prime Minister attended the ASEAN and East Asia Summits recently;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details of the issues covered and talks held with the Chinese, American and other leaders and the agreements/MoUs signed with them;
(d) whether the exploration activity of India in South China Sea has come up for discussion during the talks with China; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Chinese side in this regard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI S.M. KRISHNA)
(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.295 REGARDING `TALKS AT ASEAN AND EAST ASIA SUMMIT` FOR ANSWER ON 14.12.2011
Prime Minister attended the 9th India-ASEAN Summit and 6th East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Bali, Indonesia on November 19, 2011. At the 9th India- ASEAN Summit, Prime Minister and the ASEAN Leaders took note of the progress made in India-ASEAN dialogue relations and reaffirmed their determination to further strengthen India-ASEAN cooperation.
At the 6th EAS, the Leaders agreed to co-operate on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia. EAS Member States discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the five priority areas of EAS cooperation: energy, finance, education, communicable diseases and disaster management. Two Declarations were adopted - ‘Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations’ and the ‘Declaration of the 6th East Asia Summit on ASEAN Connectivity’.
Prime Minister met the U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 18, 2011 and Indonesian President Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on November 19, 2011 on the sides of the East Asia Summit in Bali.
Prime Minister and the US President reviewed satisfactory progress in bilateral cooperation and held discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Prime Minister’s discussions with the Chinese Premier covered a range of bilateral, regional and international issues. Recognizing that robust trade, economic and business ties constitute an important element of the bilateral relationship, they welcomed the holding of the first Strategic Economic Dialogue between India and China in Beijing in September 2011. They called for greater people-topeople contacts as well as a continued and closer dialogue on bilateral, regional and international issues.
Prime Minister in his meeting with the Prime Minister of Cambodia, a country which is ASEAN’s Country Coordinator for India, reviewed preparations for marking the 20th anniversary of IndiaASEAN Dialogue Partnership in 2012. They expressed satisfaction at the progress in projects that India was executing in Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen sought India’s continued cooperation in implementation of the infrastructure and connectivity projects and invited Indian private sector investment into his country.
Prime Minister and the Indonesian President in their meeting reviewed bilateral relations and progress since the visit of Indonesian President to India in January 2011 and ways to take relations forward, such as holding an early meeting of the Joint Commission and enhancing cooperation in areas like energy and food security and in meeting non-traditional security threats. Prime Minister in his meeting with Prime Minister of Australia reviewed bilateral ties during which she apprised him on the initiatives she had taken to bring about a change in Australia’s policy on export of uranium to India. No bilateral agreement or MoU was signed by India with these countries at the 9th India-ASEAN and 6th East Asia Summits.
Sovereignty over areas of the South China Sea is disputed between many countries in the region. India is not a party to this dispute. As two developing countries with growing energy needs, India and Vietnam have been cooperating in the oil and gas industry to enhance our energy security. During Prime Minister’s meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Bali in November 2011, China, which is a party to the South China Sea dispute, raised the issue of Indian hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation projects in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam. It was conveyed to the Chinese side that such activity by Indian companies in the South China Sea is commercial in nature and that sovereignty issues must be resolved peacefully by the countries which are parties to the dispute in accordance with international law and practice.