New Delhi, September 30 (Daily Kiran) : Amid ongoing geopolitical crises impacting maritime highways, experts gathered in New Delhi on September 30 to discuss the urgent need for India to prioritize the establishment of alternative routes. The conference, titled “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” was organized by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF).
During the event, leading analysts highlighted the necessity of developing alternative supply routes to enhance security in the Indo-Pacific region. They underscored the importance of improving maritime connectivity and deepening regional cooperation. The participants noted that both India and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) must play significant roles in ensuring the security of the oceans.
While India and ASEAN already share a robust institutional framework through various platforms, the experts stressed that effective implementation and coordination are critical. They pointed out that while oceans naturally connect nations, it is the connectivity between them that transforms geography into opportunity.
R. Lakshmanan, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, highlighted the dramatic rise in shipping costs, noting that the rental cost for a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) has surged nearly tenfold compared to pre-crisis levels, while container ship rental costs have increased fivefold. This surge affects manufacturing, logistics expenses, and overall supply chain flexibility.
He suggested that improved information sharing, facilitated by the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), which is operated by the Indian Navy, could mitigate such shocks. “The IFC-IOR primarily serves as a security mechanism for naval and coast guard operations, but we can expand its scope to include port authorities and customs agencies, allowing us to track disruptions in trade and commercial shipping while enhancing information exchange,” Lakshmanan stated.
Other experts echoed the sentiment that India-ASEAN maritime cooperation is based on shared geography, economic interdependence, and mutual interests in a secure and resilient Indo-Pacific. Ambassador Jaydeep Mazumdar emphasized that this cooperation has evolved from declarative alignment to a structured, multidimensional partnership. The current challenge is to translate this alignment into tangible outcomes, enabling a shared understanding and coordinated responses to maritime contingencies, whether expected or unexpected.
Retired Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha reiterated the importance of open oceans for shared development, stating that safe seas and shipping lanes are essential for mutual prosperity in an interconnected world.
The conference also addressed how to broaden and enhance India-ASEAN cooperation amid rising geoeconomic uncertainty, maritime disruptions, and regional hedging. It emphasized the need to strengthen practical convergence among frameworks like the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI), and the Act East Policy, while improving maritime security, supply chain resilience, and energy cooperation.
Speakers highlighted that the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the interconnected vulnerabilities of remote energy routes and regional chokepoints, reinforcing the need for diverse energy and trade routes, enhanced port capacities on the eastern coast, alternative connectivity corridors, maritime domain awareness, and information sharing. They also called for increased naval and coast guard cooperation, coordinated patrols, exercises, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), search and rescue operations, and greater utilization of ASEAN-led platforms such as the ARF and ADMM-Plus.
Additionally, the need to deepen India’s engagement with ASEAN through capacity building, defense cooperation, and connectivity, particularly in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was emphasized.
The speakers concluded that the priority should be to convert existing frameworks and initiatives into continuous operational outcomes through strengthened institutional coordination, crisis preparedness, and information sharing. Energy diversification, regional connectivity, and maritime domain awareness emerged as key areas for building resilience, while practical cooperation in patrolling, exercises, HADR, search and rescue, and supply chain security could further strengthen partnerships.
With 2027 marking the 35th anniversary of the India-ASEAN dialogue partnership, the identified main challenge is to translate the established cooperation agenda into concrete and sustained results.
Leave a Comment