ASEAN defence ministers sign “Joint Declaration”
Singapore hosted the second ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) on 14 Nov 07. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean, and attended by Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Deputy Minister of Defence, Brunei; General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Cambodia; Juwono Sudarsono, Minister for Defence, Indonesia; Lieutenant-General Douangchay Phichit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Malaysia; Major-General Aye Myint, Deputy Defence Minister, Myanmar; Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., Secretary of National Defense, Philippines; General Boonrawd Somtas, Minister of Defence, Thailand; and General Phung Quang Thanh, Minister of National Defence, Vietnam.
The ADMM-Plus Concept Paper lays the groundwork for future constructive relations between the ADMM and defence establishments beyond ASEAN, such as China, India, Japan and South Korea.
The three-day ADMM marks the third time that ASEAN defence ministers have gathered for talks, after the first ADMM in Kuala Lumpur last year and a retreat in Bali in March.
During the meeting, the Ministers discussed a broad range of security issues, including the threat of terrorism, challenges of disaster relief and regional maritime security. The Ministers adopted three papers, namely the ADMM-Plus Concept Paper, the Protocol to the ADMM Concept Paper, and the ADMM Three-Year Work Programme. These three papers will help chart the evolution of the ADMM in the coming years. As a symbol of the ADMM’s commitment to enhance regional peace and stability, the Ministers also signed the ADMM Joint Declaration.
The ADMM facilitates greater dialogue and practical cooperation among ASEAN defence establishments to address transnational security challenges. It is potentially also a useful platform to engage the defence establishments outside of Southeast Asia. Singapore’s hosting of the ADMM reflects its belief in the important role the forum plays in enhancing regional peace and stability, in promoting greater integration within ASEAN, and in contributing to the realisation of an ASEAN Security Community by 2015. As part of the ADMM programme, the Ministers also jointly called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Thailand will host the next ADMM in 2008.
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