There must be zero tolerance for terrorism: Jaishankar at ASEAN Regional Forum

📌 Summary:

• At the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting in Manila, EAM S Jaishankar said there must be "zero tolerance for terrorism" and that acts of terror "will have consequences"
• Context: a day earlier, a policeman on Amarnath Yatra duty was shot dead in Anantnag — the first terror attack in Kashmir since the Pahalgam killing of 26 people (25 tourists) last year
• On maritime security, Jaishankar said attacks on maritime shipping and civilian infrastructure are "unacceptable" and commerce through international waterways should remain safe and unimpeded — amid attacks on ships in the US-Israel-Iran war that killed Indian seafarers
• On the South China Sea, he backed a "substantive, effective and legally binding" Code of Conduct fully compliant with UNCLOS 1982, and flagged China's "assertive" behaviour and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific
• Highlighted India's maritime contributions: the Information Fusion Centre, the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative, and force deployment from the North Arabian Sea to the Western Pacific to counter piracy, trafficking and narcotics
• On disaster relief, he cited India's collaborative approach — Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), field hospitals, search-and-rescue and relief across Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Jamaica, Myanmar, Venezuela and Afghanistan
• Also urged vigilance against those undermining non-proliferation and disarmament, and advocated a "responsible, human-centric" approach to AI
• Held bilaterals with Oman, the Netherlands, PNG, Brunei, the Philippines' President Marcos Jr and UK Foreign Secretary (building on FTA implementation)

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 IR — India's Act East policy and Indo-Pacific engagement; multilateral diplomacy on terrorism, maritime security (UNCLOS), disaster resilience and non-proliferation.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• ARF = ASEAN Regional Forum; the 33rd Ministerial Meeting was held in Manila
• UNCLOS 1982 governs countries' rights over marine resources; a South China Sea Code of Conduct is being negotiated
• India runs the Information Fusion Centre and the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative
• CDRI = Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

🔑 Key Term: ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) — a multilateral forum for dialogue on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific, a key platform for India's Act East and Indo-Pacific diplomacy.