India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday told the leadership of Thailand that India-Thailand collaboration is necessary to ensure freedom of navigation and connectivity in the Southeast Asian region.
“As maritime neighbours, we have a shared interest in the security of international sea lanes of communication and commerce. Our resolve to strengthen our bilateral engagement in the areas of security and defence will help the region as a whole and promote regional economic integration and connectivity,” Mr. Ansari said while addressing the state banquet hosted in his honour by the Thai Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha.
During the ongoing tour of Southeast Asia, the Indian delegation led by Mr. Ansari has expressed Indian concerns about freedom of navigation in the region due to growing maritime disputes between China and several other regional countries over South China Sea. “Our position on resolving the South China Sea dispute is well known and we want it to be settled peacefully. Thailand has been the country coordinator of ASEAN-China relations and took useful steps towards solving the dispute. We hope Singapore, too, [the current coordinator] will take similar steps,” said Mr. Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East), in course of a briefing held in Bangkok.
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“We confirmed that India will participate in Cobra Gold 2016 [multilateral amphibious exercise] and Operation Maitri [counter-insurgency] operations,” said Mr. Wadhwa.
India and Thailand recently held a joint task force meeting in Delhi to deepen maritime and defence cooperation which covers a range of issues, including ocean safety, disaster management and anti-terror drills. The delegations also confirmed that India and Thailand will soon hold naval exercises in the Andaman Seas.
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That apart, both sides agreed to fast track the ongoing trilateral land corridor project connecting Thailand-Myanmar and India.
These bilateral and multilateral infrastructure and security projects will receive further boost in the coming months when the entire top brass of the Thai leadership, including Prime Minister Gen. Chan-o-cha, is expected to visit New Delhi.