Leaders of the 10-member regional grouping and India gathered for the summit to celebrate the silver jubilee of relations and agreed to strengthen and deepen their partnership for their mutual benefit across the spectrum of political-security, economic and socio-culture issues.

The Delhi Declaration issued after the summit said the group gave importance to maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the contentious sea.

Some members of Asean have been at loggerheads with China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea for a long time, notably after Beijing built artificial islands to facilitate the militarisation of the region over recent years.

India is not a part of the conflict but supports freedom of navigation in the region in line with international law, notably the 1982 Untied Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In 2002, Asean and China signed the non-binding Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea. They are now working on a legal binding code of conduct after the approval of its framework by leaders of the group last year.

In the declaration, Asean and India said they looked forward to an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct.

In the meeting yesterday, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong, who co-chaired the event with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, called on the two sides to take the relationship forward by enhancing trade, investment and connectivity.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also attended the summit. Prayut said in a bilateral meeting with Modi that Thailand, which will take the position of Asean-India coordinator in August, would push forward cooperation as well as support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.