India's relations with ASEAN growing well, says EAM Jaishankar

Munich [Germany], February 20 : Reaffirming strong diplomatic relations with ASEAN nations, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Saturday dismissed a recent poll that suggested that trust of the southeast Asian bloc had decreased in India.
Answering a question on the low level of confidence between ASEAN and India relations in an opinion poll, Jaishankar, during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference, said, "I am a politician so I believe in polls. But I have never seen a poll which is made any sense to me when it comes to foreign policy."
Contrary to the claims made by an opinion poll, the External Affairs Minister said that India's relations with the ASEAN are actually growing well.
"If I were to look at the evolution of the two big changes that are taking place. We have much stronger security cooperation with the ASEAN. In the Philippines, we have signed agreements for military supplies to the Philippines. We are part of ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus."
Jaishankar also cited strong bilateral relations with Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam amongst others ASEAN countries. Jaishankar's remarks come in the backdrop of his recent visit to the Philippines from February 13-15.
This was his first visit to the Philippines as the EAM. During his visit, both nations discussed the future trajectory of the wide-ranging engagement between the two countries.
He held a bilateral meeting with his Philippines counterpart Teodoro L. Locsin Jr and had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.