UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Visit of Prime Minister to Manila, Philippines

Q1. With reference to ASEAN centrality in the regional summit architecture, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. In ASEAN-anchored forums such as the East Asia Summit, it is ASEAN, not the larger external participants, that sets the agenda.
  2. A non-ASEAN participant such as India becomes eligible to host the East Asia Summit when its turn comes in the rotation.
  3. Because the ASEAN-India Summit is India meeting ASEAN as a bloc, an expansion of ASEAN's own membership automatically widens the set of countries India engages with at that summit.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The 23rd ASEAN-India Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit are both being held in the same host city in 2026.
  2. The ASEAN member state holding the rotating annual ASEAN Chair hosts both the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit of that year.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under UNCLOS, foreign ships enjoy the right of innocent passage through a coastal state's territorial sea.
  2. A coastal state does not have sovereignty over its territorial sea; like in its Exclusive Economic Zone, it has only sovereign rights over the resources there.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. A government research vessel of a non-ASEAN country plans to survey the water column about 150 nautical miles off the Philippine coast. The area lies within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone and does not overlap any other state's maritime claim. Under UNCLOS, which one of the following is correct?

  • A. It needs no consent, because research is not one of the economic activities over which the coastal state holds rights in its EEZ
  • B. It needs the Philippines' consent, because the coastal state has jurisdiction over marine scientific research in its EEZ
  • C. It needs the Philippines' consent only within 24 nautical miles, because coastal jurisdiction ends at the contiguous zone
  • D. It needs no consent, because research beyond the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea is governed by high-seas freedoms

Q5. With reference to a coastal state's rights under UNCLOS, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Where a state's continental margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles, its rights over the sea-bed and subsoil can extend beyond that distance.
  2. A state's rights over an extended continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles also cover the fish stocks in the water column above it.
  3. Within the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, the coastal state's sovereign rights cover resources of the water column as well as of the sea-bed and subsoil.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q6. Suppose India wants to raise a regional maritime concern at the level of heads of government, in an ASEAN-centred forum where China and the United States are also present at the same table as the ASEAN leaders. Which one of the following forums would serve this purpose?

  • A. The East Asia Summit
  • B. The ASEAN Plus Three Summit
  • C. The ASEAN-India Summit
  • D. The ASEAN-China Summit