India to invite heads of Asean nations next year for Republic Day celebrations

India’s Republic Day in 2018 will be the first time ever so many leaders will be chief guests at military parade

NEWS DESK: India is set to invite the heads of all 10 Asean nations for the Republic Day parade next year.

Asean is the Association of South-east Asian nations and has Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as members.

According to the Times of India (TOI), India’s Republic Day in 2018 will be the first time ever so many leaders will be chief guests at its military parade.



Since New Delhi renamed 'Look East' as 'Act East' in 2014, Asean remains a central pillar of it. The special summit next year in January is expected to further underscore the point, said the report.

According to Indian External Affairs Ministry, India and Asean are marking 25 years of dialogue partnership, 15 years of summit-level interaction and five years of strategic partnership through a wide range of activities this year. It is also significant, the ministry added, that Singapore and Vietnam have been exhorting India to increase its profile in the region.

China's increasing assertiveness in the way it has handled maritime territorial disputes, particularly in the South China Sea, continues to spark fear and insecurity in the region, said the TOI.

At least four Asean countries — Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei — are directly party to disputes involving Beijing in the South China Sea. Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong is likely to attend the function.



China on July 6 said, it was also absurd for India to use the excuse of Chinese road-building to cross over their border, and accused India of militarising its side of the frontier. A standoff on a plateau next to the mountainous Indian state of Sikkim, which borders China, has ratcheted up tension between the neighbouring giants, who share a 3,500 km frontier, large parts of which are disputed.

According to China, Indian guards crossed into China's Donglang region early in June and obstructed work on a road on the plateau. India said it had warned China that construction of the road near their common border would have serious security implications.

 

This story originally appeared on The Times of India.