Overview

• At the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum meetings in Penang on June 10–11, Secretary (East) P Kumaran voiced India’s grave concerns about state-sponsored terrorism after the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.
• He described Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 to destroy terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.
• Kumaran underscored the convergence between the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and lent support to proposed outcome documents for the 20th East Asia Summit.
• During his Malaysia visit, he held bilateral talks with counterparts from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Singapore to deepen strategic ties.
• He invited participating countries to India-hosted initiatives, including an EAS Knowledge Exchange Workshop on energy efficiency and a conclave of higher education heads at Nalanda University.