Diplomacy Post-Sindoor: India Pushes ASEAN To Recognise State-Sponsored Terrorism

 

 

New Delhi: India’s post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic campaign has taken a decisive turn towards Southeast Asia. Speaking at the East Asia Summit Senior Officials’ Meeting (EAS SOM) in Penang, Malaysia, on Wednesday, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry, P Kumaran, emphasised the urgency of regional cooperation to tackle the menace of terrorism - an indirect but unmistakable reference to Pakistan-based terror networks.

 

With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increasingly becoming a theatre of geopolitical competition, India’s message was not only a warning but also a nudge for collective security alignment in the Indo-Pacific, just as Pakistan makes a renewed push for institutional legitimacy in the region. “Secretary (East) underlined the important role of EAS towards promoting free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific as this premier leaders-led mechanism is marking its 20th anniversary this year,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in a post on his X handle.

 

“Sharing India’s position on regional and international issues, he called for collective action for addressing menace of terrorism that poses a serious threat to peace, security and development of the region.” In a separate press release, the External Affairs Ministry stated that during his intervention at the ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Officials’ Meeting (ARF SOM), Kumaran exchanged views on regional and international developments, including important issues such as terrorism, maritime and cyber security, among others. “Secretary (East) appreciated the role of the ASEAN-led mechanisms, and ARF and EAS in particular, in the emerging regional architecture for promoting mutual trust and understanding in the region,” the Ministry press release stated.

 

“He shared India’s grave concerns about the threat posed by state-sponsored terrorism in light of the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He outlined that India’s response in Operation Sindoor was measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.” The EAS SOM and ARF SOM were held close on the heels of an Indian all-party delegation’s visit to Southeast and East Asian nations led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha which was tasked with sharing the importance of India’s Operation Sindoor in May in the wake of the heinous Pahalgam terror attack in April. Launched under a new doctrine of calibrated deterrence, Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s resolve to strike surgically at terrorist infrastructure while maintaining escalation control. While military in nature, the operation is now also shaping India’s foreign policy discourse. New Delhi is leveraging post-Sindoor diplomatic capital to mobilise international and regional opinion against the permissiveness of Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism.

 

Southeast Asia is no stranger to terrorism. Countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have faced periodic violent extremism from groups with transnational linkages. The emergence of Islamic State (IS)-inspired cells and the radicalisation of youth via digital platforms have only complicated the region’s counter-terror landscape. India’s emphasis at the EAS meeting, therefore, was not merely about deflecting attention toward Pakistan, but aligning its own experience and intelligence with a broader Indo-Pacific security vision. By invoking the menace of terrorism in Penang, India reminded ASEAN countries that the threat is not contained by geography and can be exacerbated by state complicity. Kumaran’s call for collective action thus signals India’s intent to strengthen regional counter-terrorism frameworks through intelligence sharing, capacity building, and cyber cooperation. At the heart of this effort is a subtle but strategic objective: to shape a Southeast Asian consensus that treats state-sponsored terrorism as a disqualifier for deeper regional integration-implicitly targeting Pakistan’s current diplomatic push.

 

Wednesday’s developments in Penang come even as Pakistan is pleading with Malaysia, the current chair of the ASEAN, to make Islamabad a dialogue partner with the 10-nation regional bloc. According to a report in the The Rakyat Post news website of Malaysia, “Pakistan is renewing its decades-long effort to secure full dialogue partner status with ASEAN, building on relationships established since becoming the bloc’s first sectoral dialogue partner in 1993”. “This matter has been discussed between the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Malaysia,” The Rakyat Post quoted Pakistan High Commissioner to Malysia Syed Ahsan Raza Shah as saying during a press interaction in Kuala Lumpur as saying last Friday. “As soon as the moratorium (on accepting new dialogue partners) is lifted, we hope to be given full dialogue partner status.” According to K Yhome, Fellow at the Shillong-based think tank Asian Confluence, both India and the ASEAN nations have been victims of terror attacks. “While India has been suffering for decades, the ASEAN nations have also had their own share of challenges,” Yhome told ETV Bharat. He said that the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia led to the building of a strategic cooperation between India and the ASEAN on counter-terrorism.

 

The Bali bombings were a series of terrorist attacks on October 12, 2002, in the tourist district of Kuta in Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationalities) and injured a further 209. Various members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a violent Islamist group, were convicted in relation to the bombings, including three who were sentenced to death. A year later, on October 8, 2003, India and the ASEAN adopted a ‘Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism’. Yhome said that though Indonesia and Malaysia are Muslim-majority countries, both supported India’s stand on counter-terrorism. He pointed out that that the Indian all-party parliamentary delegation also visited the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) in Kuala Lumpur.

 

“The delegation elaborated India’s steadfast and principled position of zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, especially in light of the recent cross-border terrorist attack in Pahalgam,” the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur stated in a press release following the meeting on June 3. “SEARCCT’s role as a regional centre for promoting counter-terrorism initiatives, and its role in India-Malaysia Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism, was highlighted by the leader of the delegation. Discussions centred around regional synergy through SEARCCT, particularly in legal frameworks, counter-terror financing, community resilience, as well as promoting studies on the ways to address cross-border terrorism.”

 

The Philippines too have been a victim of Islamist terrorism. Terrorist groups like Abu Sayyaf, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Jemaah Islamiyah mostly operate in the Southern Philippines. In mid-2017, following a brutal 156-day siege of Marawi City in the Philippines, around 800 km south of capital Manila, India announced a financial grant to aid relief and rehabilitation efforts for the city's largely Muslim populace. This was the first ever instance of India providing direct financial support to another country to counter terrorism. Yhome also alluded to the 14th edition of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM+) Experts Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi held in New Delhi in March this year.

 

During the meeting, India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh stated that terrorism remains a dynamic and evolving challenge, with threats increasingly transcending borders, and the use of advanced technology, cyber tools and unmanned systems by terrorist groups necessitating a cohesive, forward looking and action-oriented approach. He added that the Indo-Pacific region, given its geopolitical and economic significance, is particularly vulnerable to transitional terrorism and violent extremism, which calls for a comprehensive, adaptive, and deeply collaborative response.