Position Paper

Committee: UNGA Disarmament and International Security (DISEC)

Country: India

Agenda: Demilitarization of South China Sea

The Indo-Pacific Region is very strategic region in the world especially in the maritime domain.
Maritime Domain is very vast and important for development of any sea littoral nations. Oceans had
an important place in Indian thinking since pre Vedic times. We pray various God figures related to
water and ocean. India has very vast coastline which in result make India a major stakeholder in the
development process. To the East, the Malacca Strait and South China Sea connect India to the
Pacific and to most of our major partners - ASEAN, Japan, Republic of Korea, China and the
Americas. Our trade in the region is growing rapidly. And, a significant part of our overseas
investments flow in this direction. ASEAN alone accounts for over 20%.

In a very long Indo-pacific region, a contention area is South China Sea. The dispute over sea is
basically among six sovereign nation of this region such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malayasia etc.
It is believed that the Sea is full of natural resource and oil reserve and with growing demand of
energy the dispute spooked very high in the recent time. It is also believed that dominance of this sea
results in dominating that region.

The mandate for this committee is very clear that the any action which is disturbing the international
peace is not acceptable at any cost. India stand by that view and suggest that any dispute which
contain some military elements should be primarily be led by direct stakeholder. So India has been
very due vigilant for any conflicted point and ready for his positive role. But India reiterated again
that the talk for demilitarization of region should led by Sino-ASEAN countries which are the
primarily stakeholder.

As we said that it is very important region in economic term as it is our gateway for East Asia and
our stake is of very vast amount of billions of dollars. Our interests in the region are vast, and our
engagement is deep. In the Indian Ocean region, our relationships are becoming stronger. We are
also helping build economic capabilities and improve maritime security for our friends and partners.
We promote collective security through forums like Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. India is ready
for any collaboration with likeminded countries to secure our sea Lanes from Piracy, Terrorism etc.
and request every country in the region to support and collaborate on the agenda of peace and
prosperity. India repeats again that any conflict can be solved only by dialogue not by military
means.
India has very firm stand that sovereignty of any nation is the primarily main preference so any multi
nation infrastructure and collaborative projects should not interfere and not make any situation
where a country has to be work against himself’s sovereignty. The use of naval capabilities in
securing the lanes is the need of the hour but India suggest that a international and consensus based
regulating mechanism should established which is democratically valued.

Freedom of Navigation is the need of the hour and India is with the stand that there is no compromise
in the navigation matter as it staked a very large amount. India believes to resolve the issues over
SCS in a peaceful way through negotiation. Our Act East Policy is to further economic and strategic
cooperation beyond our immediate neighbor. Thus India insist on peacefully resolve the dispute in
accordance with international Law including United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea in
this regard. India further work on strengthening our relation with ASEAN, Japan, Australia and
South Korea in economic and technical capacity building such as Command Control
Communication, Computer Intelligence , Satellite monitoring ,modernization of naval strength,
Interoperability Surveillance and Reconnaissance system and maritime surveillance architecture.

There will be a impact of development in the SCS in the coming future and if it cannot solved
amicably then achieving SDG is very difficult as it contain very large amount of trade and resource
in it. Secondary actors have to be plays a moderated role in the dialogue process as we said earlier
that process should be led by main stakeholder. India is with every likeminded country that is ready
to work for shared vision of an open, stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific Region. Under the
leadership of our prime Minister, India is working on the policy of SAGAR which means Security
and Growth for All in the Region and Freedom to use of Sea to achieve the desired goals.

On conclusion points India reiterate the following views:

1. It stands for a free, open, inclusive region, which benefits us all in a common pursuit of
progress and prosperity. It includes all nations in this geography as also others beyond who
have a stake in it.
2. We believe that our common prosperity and security require us to evolve, through dialogue,
a common rules-based order for the region.. Such an order must believe in sovereignty and
territorial integrity, as well as equality of all nations, irrespective of size and strength. These
rules and norms should be based on the consent of all, not on the power of the few. This
must be based on faith in dialogue, and not dependence on force. It also means that when
nations make international commitments, they must uphold them in true spirit. This is the
foundation of multilateralism and regionalism and of our principled commitment to rule of
law
3. All nation should all have equal access as a right under international law to the use of
common spaces on sea and in the air that would require freedom of navigation, unimpeded
commerce and peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law.. We will
also be able to come together to prevent maritime crimes, preserve marine ecology, protect
against disasters and prosper from blue economy
At last we want to focus on 5 pillar principle given by our Prime Minister namely Respect,
Dialogue, Cooperation, Peace, and Prosperity. Military dominance in the region which is gateway
of development and prosperity cannot led to achieve our desired goals and all countries should come
forward to hold democratic rule based international rules and order.