India, Indonesia call for 'full and effective' code of conduct in South China Sea

India and Indonesia have called for a "full and effective" code of conduct in the South China Sea in accordance with the relevant international laws amid China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

The situation in the South China Sea figured in wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday, according to a joint statement.

In their meeting, the two sides agreed to position a liaison officer from Indonesia at India's Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).

The Indian Navy established the IFC-IOR in Gurugram in 2018 to keep track of shipping traffic as well as other critical developments in the region under a collaborative framework with like-minded countries.

Modi and Subianto, while strongly condemning terrorism in all its forms, vowed to boost India-Indonesia anti-terror cooperation and called for concerted global efforts to combat the menace without any "double standards".

The two leaders called upon all countries to initiate concerted action against UN-proscribed terrorist organisations and their affiliates, the statement said.

Subianto was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations at the majestic Kartavya Path on Sunday.

In their talks, the prime minister and the visiting leader also explored ways to enhance India-Indonesia economic ties and emphasised the importance of expeditious implementation of an MoU inked by the two sides last year for the use of local currencies for bilateral transactions, according to the statement.

The joint statement, referring to the situation in the maritime domain, said the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region.

They also called for unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and promoting peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).

"In this regard, they supported the full and effective implementation of the declaration on the conduct of the parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and look forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive code of conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS," the statement noted.

The ASEAN countries too have been insisting on a binding code of conduct (COC) on the South China Sea largely in view of China's consistent attempts to assert its expansive claims over the region.

In their talks, Modi and Subianto also agreed to an early establishment of bilateral maritime dialogue and cyber security dialogue. They also reaffirmed that India and Indonesia as maritime neighbours and strategic partners must continue to work to further deepen and broaden the defence cooperation to a robust one, the statement noted.

"Both leaders welcomed the ratification of the agreement concerning cooperation in the field of defence (DCA) and expressed confidence that this would lead to further deepening of defence ties," it said.