ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)

Background:
               The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was set up in 1993 as a regional security cooperation and dialogue platform based on deliberations in the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference between the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and its full dialogue partners. In 1995, the ARF agreed to an evolutionary approach to effectively tackle security issues and adopted a 3-stage process viz, 1st stage – Confidence Building Measures (CBMs); 2nd stage – development of preventive diplomacy; and 3rd stage – elaboration of approaches to conflicts. ASEAN values of consensus, confidence building and progress at a pace comfortable to all have guided the ARF process since inception.

               At present ARF has 27 member states. These include: the 10 ASEAN countries - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; the 10 ASEAN Dialogue Partners - Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, ROK, New Zealand, Russia and United States; and 7 other countries, namely, Bangladesh, DPRK, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Sri Lanka.

            The ARF process is three-tiered - Track-I, Track I ½ (activities approved by ARF and involving scholars and officials from member states acting in their personal capacity) and Track-II (which provides a nongovernmental forum for academics, scholars, researchers to interact in their private capacity with a view to developing structured regional processes). The 18th ARF Ministerial held on 23 July 2011 adopted a Work Plan on Preventive Diplomacy as well as a Work Plan on Maritime Security, which provide the framework for taking forward cooperation activities in the respective areas.

India and ARF:
       India became a member of the ARF in 1996. India’s participation in the ARF demonstrates our increasing engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, both in the politico-security and economic spheres and underlines our commitment to the objective of sustaining regional peace and stability. Our participation is consistent with our “Look East” policy, and development of closer links with the ASEAN as a full-dialogue partner.
         India has organized several seminars, workshops and training programmes for ARF Members. The themes of these activities have included peacekeeping, maritime security, anti-piracy and cyber security.
         India has been an active participant in the various ARF processes including the last (18th) ARF Ministerial in Bali in July 2011 and ARF SOM in Surabaya in June 2011. India participated in the ARF ISG on CBM and PD and DOD in Phnom Penh from 7-9 December 2011, the 6th ARF EEP meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from 01-03 February 2012, the 4th ISM on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in Sydney, Australia from 8-9 March 2012 and the 10th ISM on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime in Hoi An, Vietnam from 16-17 March 2012. Indian Naval Ship Kesari  and 16-member National Disaster Relief Force participated in the Table Top Exercise (TTX) ??? and Field Training Exercise (FTX) of the Disaster Relief Exercise 2011 (DIREX 2011) in Manado, Indonesia in March 2011.