International norms for military AI must be established at the research and defence-planning stages, before AI-enabled systems reach the battlefield, an Indian expert said at an annual international security dialogue platform in China.

There is an urgent need to establish international norms governing military AI before AI-enabled systems are deployed in actual conflicts, said Sujan R Chinoy, Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), speaking on "AI & Future Warfare" at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China's premier annual international security dialogue platform.

Chinoy said that according to experts and strategic policymakers, AI is fundamentally changing the character of modern warfare, compressing the time available for decision-making and creating new vulnerabilities that require urgent global norms.

Inaugurating the Forum, held here on September 15-16, the Chinese Minister of National Defence Dong Jun called for joint efforts to address common security challenges as an international security forum.

Dong stressed that in the current interdependent world, the deeper the cooperation among countries, the safer the world will be, pledging that the Chinese military is willing to contribute to safeguarding international fairness and justice, as well as global peace and stability.

"We should bear in mind the security and well-being of all humanity, respect one another, and enhance exchanges and mutual learning, while working to make the international security order more just and equitable," he noted.

The Beijing Xiangshan Forum, co-hosted by the China Association for Military Science and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, has drawn guests from more than 100 countries, regions and international organisations.

Nearly 2,000 official representatives, scholars and observers from more than 100 countries, regions and international organisations took part in the Forum, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

This is the first time Chinoy, who heads India's premier Defence, Security and International Relations think tank, has participated in the Chinese military-organised forum against the backdrop of the current normalisation process between India and China.

Speaking at a Session on "Sea Lane Security and Maritime Security Governance" Chinoy emphasised the need for the UNCLOS Treaty to be universalised.

So far, 172 countries and entities have signed and ratified, including India, 12 have signed but not ratified; and 16 countries and entities have yet to sign.

Importantly, Iran and the US, both belligerents in the Strait of Hormuz and both shuttering it down in their own ways, are not parties to UNCLOS, he said.

The Strait of Hormuz is recognised as an international waterway passage under Article 37 of UNCLOS, yet today it is not a free passageway, and this has adversely impacted the whole world, especially the Global South nations' energy security, he said.

He described the Beijing Xiangshan Forum as a useful platform. It has completed 20 years. The Forum brings together a large number of delegations, researchers and academics from around the world for helpful conversations, he said.