India’s Transforming Relations with ASEAN Countries – A Counter to String of Pearls Theory

This paper studies the ancient cultural civilizational connection between India and ASEAN countries. This paper studies the relationship between India and the ASEAN Countries. The relationship is crucial for both India and ASEAN countries to ensure a free and safe Indo-Pacific. The strategic, defense, maritime cooperation between India and ASEAN countries such as Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have a stronger role in ensuring safety and security in the South China Sea. The Military exercise between India and some of the ASEAN countries in the South China Sea has rumbled the activities of China and ensured a free and safe Indo-Pacific. The strait of Malacca has been studied in detail to analyze the petroleum supply of China is large in number. This paper concludes in a positive notion towards the relationship of India and ASEAN countries.