India hosted the sixth East Asia Summit (EAS) Conference on Maritime Security Cooperation in Mumbai, Maharashtra, from 4-5 July 2024. The Ministry of External Affairs of India, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia co-chaired the event. The event was successfully organised in collaboration with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) and the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) under the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) as knowledge partners for the Conference.
Mr. Jaideep Majumdar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, India, inaugurated the event. The conference is an essential means of promoting Indo-Pacific cooperation. It witnessed the participation of at least sixty leaders, experts, academicians, and officials from the participating countries of the EAS discussing crucial issues related to maritime security. According to Mr. Randhir Jaiswal, the official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, “The Conference is aimed at promoting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and support implementation of the EAS Plan of Action. Government officials and experts from think tanks & academia from EAS Participating Countries are deliberating on six thematic sessions related to Maritime Security.”
Additionally, Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, Director-General of NMF, “stressed aligning the Conference within the ambit of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policy and underscored the importance of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and its seven thrust lines, which gives first-order specificity to SAGAR.”
According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, India, some of the central themes included regional maritime domain awareness, the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), combating illicit naval activity, maritime connectivity, anti-piracy and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, Search and Rescue, as well as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
