Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will discuss the entire range of issues related to security and Defence with her counterparts in South Asia during her three-day visit to the Philippines starting Monday. It will be her first visit abroad as Defence Minister after taking charge some weeks back.
She will take part in Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) which is expected to deliberate on the situation in Afghanistan and Syria besides China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea.
The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region. The two-day meeting will discuss ways to enhance defence and security cooperation among the member nations to effectively counter various transnational security challenges facing the region. Sitharaman is likely to assert India's position on the issues at the gathering, officials said here on Saturday adding she will hold bilateral talks with defence ministers of other participating countries.
China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. However, a number of ASEAN member countries including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei have counter claims.
India has been supporting freedom of navigation and access to resources in the South China Sea in accordance with principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the law of the Sea. The ADMM-plus is also likely to discuss enhancing maritime cooperation among the member countries, officials said.
The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi in 2010. The defence ministers then had agreed on five areas of practical cooperation to pursue under the new mechanism, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping operations.