The core drivers of ASEAN-India relations are dominated by hard defence procurement, counter-terrorism, and maritime security. High-profile developments—like India selling BrahMos cruise missiles to the Philippines or conducting the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise in the South China Sea—routinely overshadow challenges like climate change. The definition of "security", however, is expanding. Environmental issues, often siloed under “development” or treated as secondary rather than core “security” multipliers, could exacerbate resource conflicts, migration, or instability.

The looming threat of El Niño offers a timely reminder of the expanding environmental dimension of security in India and Southeast Asia. As India’s southwest monsoon arrived late in Kerala this June under a strengthening El Niño, anxious farmers in Maharashtra and the Gangetic plains scanned parched fields, while reservoir levels near Mumbai hovered critically low. Across Southeast Asia, similar unease grips the Mekong Delta.

A business case exists for making environmental security—the resilience of water, energy, food, and health systems against climate-amplified shocks—a critical pillar of engagement between India and ASEAN.

As S Nanthini, Associate Research Fellow in the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Program at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore, argues: “Maritime security has traditionally been a key area of cooperation for ASEAN and India. Considering the sizeable coastal regions and maritime domains of Southeast Asia and India, climate change is likely to have significant........

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