1. ASEAN bars Myanmar from ASEAN meetings
Tags: International News
The ASEAN Regional Group has said that Myanmar will not be allowed to participate in any ASEAN meetings until it shows progress on the peace plan.
Important facts
ASEAN has said that Myanmar should act in a way that shows progress has been made in the peace plan.
The regional group expressed concern over the long-running political crisis in Myanmar and the executions of four opposition activists.
ASEAN expressed its deep disappointment at the limited progress and highlighted the lack of commitment of the Nay Pyi Taw officials towards the implementation of the Five Point Consensus.
ASEAN's five-point agreement was reached in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 24, 2021, calling for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar and constructive dialogue among all parties to seek a peaceful solution.
On the Rohingya issue, ASEAN reiterated its support for facilitating the voluntary return of displaced persons in a safe and dignified manner in accordance with the bilateral agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
About ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an international organisation formed in Bangkok,Thailand in 1967.
It promotes economic development, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
General Secretary of ASEAN - Lim Jock Hoi, Brunei
Official Languages - Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese
Working Language - English
ASEAN Summit is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN.
ASEAN is third largest market in the world
It is the sixth largest economy in the world, third in Asia.
ASEAN has Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN Member Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Vietnam
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
2. African swine fever confirmed in Kannur, Kerala
Tags: State News
Recently, African Swine Fever has been confirmed for the first time in a private pig farm in Kerala, in the last ten days more than 15 pigs died on the farm due to the disease.
About African Swine Fever
African swine fever is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild boars.
It was first found in Africa in the 1920s.
Historically, infections have been reported in Africa and parts of Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.
However, since the year 2007, the disease has been reported in domestic and wild pigs in several countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.
It has a mortality rate of around 95-100% and there is no cure for this fever, so the only way to stop its spread is to kill animals.
African swine fever does not pose a threat to humans, as it only spreads from animal to animal.
African swine fever is a disease listed in the Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
World animal health organisation
It is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving the health of animals around the world.
It currently has a total of 182 countries as its members. India is one of its member countries.
It develops standard documents relating to the rules by which member states can protect themselves from diseases and pathogens. One of these is the Regional Animal Health Code.
Its standards are recognized by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as reference to the organisation's International Sanitation Rules.
Its headquarter is located in Paris (France).
3. 9th ASEAN-India meet on transnational crimes
Tags: International News
The 9th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crimes was held in a virtual mode on 20 July.
Important facts
Both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms, stressing the need to promote international cooperation to combat terrorism and transnational crimes.
The consultation was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs Government of India, Mahaveer Singhvi, from the Indian side.
Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore Government, Puah Kok Keong co-chaired the Consultation from the ASEAN side.
Both sides stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism and transnational crimes in a comprehensive and sustained manner.
They discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the areas of terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, transnational economic crimes and cybercrime within the framework of the ASEAN-India Action Plan to combat transnational crimes.
Institutional linkages and capacity building programs between the two sides were also discussed.
The 10th ASEAN-India SOMTC Consultation on International Crimes will be held in Indonesia in 2023.
ASEAN-India dialogue
It was initiated in 1992 with the establishment of the Regional Partnership, which evolved into a Full Dialogue in December 1995, a Summit-level Partnership in 2002, and a Strategic Partnership in 2012.
At present, the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation.
ASEAN is central to India's Act East Policy and the Comprehensive Indo-Pacific Strategy.
This multi-faceted partnership includes several regional dialogue mechanisms and working groups that meet regularly at various levels and include annual summits, ministerial and senior officials' meetings.
Ongoing India-ASEAN cooperation is guided by the 2021-2025 Action Plan that was adopted in 2020.
About ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an international organisation formed in Bangkok,Thailand in 1967.
It promotes economic development, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
General Secretary of ASEAN - Lim Jock Hoi, Brunei
Official Languages - Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese
Working Language - English
ASEAN Summit is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN.
ASEAN is third largest market in the world
It is the sixth largest economy in the world, third in Asia.
ASEAN has Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN Member Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Vietnam
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
4. ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meet
Tags: Popular International News
India is hosting the special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi from June 16-17 to mark the 30th anniversary of the dialogue relations. It also marks the 10th anniversary of India's strategic partnership with ASEAN.
The year 2022 has been designated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
This is the first time that India is hosting such a special meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers.
External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar and Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Singapore will co-chair the meeting.
Myanmar's foreign minister is unlikely to attend the 24th ASEAN-India Ministerial Summit.
Foreign Ministers of other ASEAN Member States and ASEAN Secretary General will participate in the meeting.
The theme of the meeting - Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific.
ASEAN-India dialogue
It was initiated in 1992 with the establishment of the Regional Partnership, which evolved into a Full Dialogue in December 1995, a Summit-level Partnership in 2002, and a Strategic Partnership in 2012.
At present, the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation.
ASEAN is central to India's Act East Policy and the Comprehensive Indo-Pacific Strategy.
This multi-faceted partnership includes several regional dialogue mechanisms and working groups that meet regularly at various levels and include annual summits, ministerial and senior officials' meetings.
Ongoing India-ASEAN cooperation is guided by the 2021-2025 Action Plan that was adopted in 2020.
About ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an international organisation formed in Bangkok,Thailand in 1967.
It promotes economic development, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
General Secretary of ASEAN - Lim Jock Hoi, Brunei
Official Languages - Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese
Working Language - English
ASEAN Summit is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN.
ASEAN is third largest market in the world
It is the sixth largest economy in the world, third in Asia.
ASEAN has Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN Member Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Vietnam
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
For more details please visit News of 13 May 2022
5. India, Vietnam sign joint vision statement on defence partnership for 2030
Tags: International Relations
India and Vietnam signed a 'Vision' document to further widen the "scope" of defence ties by 2030 and a 'Logistic Support' agreement to allow the armies of the two countries to use each other's installations.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to the south-east Asian country.
The MoU on mutual logistics support was inked by both sides.
The two countries also agreed to expeditiously finalise India's defence line of credit of $500 million to Vietnam.
Implementation of the projects through the LoC will significantly enhance Vietnam's defence capabilities and help in taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Make in India, Make for the world'.
India also announced two 'simulators' and funding to set up a language and IT laboratory at the Air Force Officers Training School to improve the capabilities of the Vietnamese Armed Forces.
India, Vietnam relation
Vietnam is an important member of ASEAN (Organisation of Southeast Asian Nations) and has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region.
India is undertaking oil exploration projects in Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea.
India and Vietnam have been working together to enhance their maritime security cooperation over the years to protect common interests.
Vietnam has become an important partner in India's 'Act East Policy' and 'Indo-Pacific Vision'.
The two countries share a rich history of civilizational and cultural ties dating back more than 2,000 years.
The relations between the two countries were accorded the status of "strategic partnership" during the visit of the then Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Vietnam in 2016, this status was raised to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership".
6. QUAD leaders launch Quad fellowship programme for graduate STEM degrees in the US
Tags: International News
A new Quad fellowship program has been launched by the leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the US at the Quad Summit in Tokyo on 24 May.
Under the program, 100 students from member countries will be sponsored to study in the US for undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
This fellowship will act as a bridge connecting the four countries and will empower these countries to provide leadership to address the many challenges faced by them in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.
The Quad Fellowship application is live and will be open till June 30.
The first classes of Quad Fellows will arrive on campus in the autumn of 2023.
Each Fellow will receive a one-time award of $50,000 that can be used for tuition, research, fees, books and related educational expenses (eg, registration fees, research-related travel).
About Quad
This is known as the 'Quadrilateral Security Dialogue' (QSD).
It is an informal strategic forum comprising four nations - United States of America (USA), India, Australia and Japan.
It aims to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
The first meeting of the Quad was held in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Quad Summit provides an opportunity for leaders to exchange views on the development of the Indo-Pacific region and current global issues of mutual interest.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the first to consider the formation of the Quad in 2007.
7. India joins Biden’s new trade initiative for Indo-Pacific
Tags: International Relations International News
US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) along with 12 initial partners in Tokyo on May 23.
The initial partner countries are India, Australia, Japan, Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
These 13 countries together represent 40% of the world's GDP.
About IPEF initiative
It is expected to focus on four main pillars including trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy and decarbonisation, and taxes and anti-corruption measures.
The group includes seven of the 10 members of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and all four Quad countries and New Zealand.
India will work closely with other IPEF countries to build an inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The main roles of the IPEF in the Indo-Pacific will be to set and adhere to standards for the digital economy and cross-border data flows and data localization.
About Indo-Pacific
It covers half of the world's population and more than 60 percent of the global GDP.
It is a geopolitical region that spans two regions of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
Extending from the west coast of the United States of America to the west coast of India, the Indo-Pacific is a regional structure of 24 countries.
It includes the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific Ocean.
8. PM Modi to attend to third edition of Quad leaders' summit in Tokyo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Quad Leaders Summit in Tokyo on May 24 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will attend the summit.
The summit in Tokyo is the fourth meeting of the Quad Leaders since the first virtual meeting in March last year.
During the visit, Modi will participate in business programs with Japanese business leaders.
He will also address and interact with the Indian community in Japan.
He will also hold a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden.
The two leaders will review the India-US Strategic Partnership and act on discussions held during the bilateral meeting of the Prime Minister of India with the US President last September.
Modi is also likely to hold bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart.
Purpose of the meeting
To review progress of Quad Initiatives and Working Groups, identify new areas of cooperation and provide strategic guidance and vision for future collaborations.
The meeting will provide an opportunity to both the leaders to take forward the mutual dialogue after the 14th India Japan Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year.
About Quad
This is known as the 'Quadrilateral Security Dialogue' (QSD).
It is an informal strategic forum comprising four nations - United States of America (USA), India, Australia and Japan.
It aims to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
The first meeting of the Quad was held in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Quad Summit provides an opportunity for leaders to exchange views on the development of the Indo-Pacific region and current global issues of mutual interest.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the first to consider the formation of the Quad in 2007.
9. US President Joe Biden to host ASEAN summit
Tags: Summits International News
US President Joe Biden will host leaders and top officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington DC.
Washington has focused on the Russo-Ukraine war as well as battling Chinese influence in the Indo Pacific.
The ASEAN "special summit" was postponed from late March just days before Biden's first visit to Asia as president.
ASEAN member state Myanmar, whose government was toppled on 1 February last year, will not participate in the summit.
The US wanted an 'apolitical' representative from Myanmar to attend the meeting.
ASEAN's 'five-point Consensus' to end the turmoil in Myanmar has not progressed since its release in April last year.
About ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an international organisation formed in Bangkok,Thailand in 1967.
It promotes economic development, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
General Secretary of ASEAN - Lim Jock Hoi, Brunei
Official Languages - Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese
Working Language - English
ASEAN Summit is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN.
ASEAN is third largest market in the world
It is the sixth largest economy in the world, third in Asia.
ASEAN has Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN Member Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Vietnam
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
10. India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 approved at 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting
Tags: Summits
The 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was held on 28 January 2022 on a virtual platform. Shri Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications (MoSC) and Admiral Tin Aung San, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Myanmar co-chaired the meeting.
- The ADGMIN is an annual meeting of Telecom Ministers of 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries -Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and the dialogue partner countries - Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, United Kingdom and US.
- The meeting discussed and deliberated various matters relevant to strengthening regional digital cooperation in the spirit of digital inclusion and integration.
- The Ministers meeting approved the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022. The work plan includes system for combating the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets, WiFi Access network interface for nationwide public internet, the capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication, Cyber Forensics, etc.
