India, March 30 -- The meteoric rise of China and its assertive influence in the Indo-Pacific region have meant that India is strengthening its negotiating space by forging economic and strategic ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This has been particularly necessitated by the gradual decline in the US posturing in the region while China has been multiplying its dominance with the creation of an artificial island in the South China Sea, the unilateral establishment of Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) connecting Asia to Africa to name a few. This, therefore, makes it imperative upon the Indian military establishment to pitch for the expansion of Qua...