BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Officials’ Meeting

BANDAR
SERI BEGAWAN: Secretary
(East), Smt. Riva Ganguly Das participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum Senior
Officials’ Meeting (ARF SOM) virtually, on 29 June 2021. The meeting saw
participation of the 27 ARF members.

The meeting reviewed ARF activities and exchanges over the past year and
deliberated on the future plans and efforts under the ARF. Senior Officials
exchanged views on the regional and international issues including the COVID-19
pandemic, terrorism, cyber security, developments in the South China Sea,
Myanmar and Korean Peninsula.

Secretary (East) in her remarks, expressed India’s appreciation for ASEAN-led
architecture and the chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam for advancing peace,
security, and cooperation in the region. Highlighting the growing traditional
and non-traditional threats posing a challenge to the maritime security
environment, she emphasised the need to work together based on convergences
between the ASEAN Outlook for the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), India’s Indo-Pacific
Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) and Indo-Pacific policies announced by several ARF
countries. She also shared our perspectives on addressing the threat posed by
terrorism and the challenges of cyber security.

In June 2021, India co-chaired an ARF workshop on ‘United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea’ and will co-chair an Inter-Sessional Meeting on Maritime
Security, workshops on “Law of the Sea and Fisheries”, and
“International Ship and Port facility Security Code” in the upcoming year.