The Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army General Upendra Dwivedi attended the 2nd Land Forces Summit (LFS) 2024 on Saturday.
The Summit was also attended by the Army Chiefs and Senior Generals from Japan, US, Australia and the Philippines, according to the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army.
During the Summit various issues such as India’s Security and Strategic perspective in the Indian Ocean Region and Multinational Defence Cooperation were covered.
Various ideas and thoughts were exchanged, aimed at a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific for peaceful co-existence. The summit underscored India’s commitment towards fostering relationships with like-minded countries to ensure a stable and secure Indo-Pacific region.
In the post on X, ADGPI wrote, “#GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, attended the 2nd Land Forces Summit #LFS 2024 virtually. The summit was also attended by Army Chiefs and Senior Generals from #Japan, #USA, #Australia and #Philippines. During the summit, #COAS gave a brief talk highlighting India’s Security and Strategic Perspective in Indian Ocean Region #IOR and Multinational #DefenceCooperation. The summit saw a congregation of thoughts and ideas aimed at a free, open & inclusive Indo-Pacific and enhancing Multinational #DefenceCooperation for peaceful co-existence. This gathering underscores India’s commitment to fostering collaborative relationships with like-minded nations, ensuring a stable and secure Indo-Pacific region.”
The summit became important as it was attended by members of the QUAD grouping of which India is a member. The other members of QUAD are US, Australia and Japan.
Among the various goals of the QUAD grouping, maritime security is an important area of collaboration between the partner countries. As per the MEA, Quad partners are working side-by-side with partners throughout the region to bolster maritime security, improve maritime domain awareness, and uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.
India has warm and friendly ties with the Philippines.
In a press statement MEA had noted that when India launched the Look East Policy and intensified partnership with ASEAN in 1992, this also resulted in stronger relations with countries in the region including the Philippines, both bilaterally and in the regional context. With the Act East Policy initiated in 2014, the relationship with the Philippines has diversified further into political-security; trade and industry and people-to-people realms. (ANI)
