ASEAN Defence Ministers Adopt Two Important Documents

The ASEAN defence ministers adopted two key documents at the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (6th ADMM) held here this morning at the Peace Palace, a press release said.

The first document is the Concept Paper on the Review of the Frequency of the ADMM-Plus Meetings and the Joint Declaration on Enhancing ASEAN Unity for a Harmonized and Secure Community, it said.

For the first document, it pointed out, the ASEAN defence ministers agreed to reduce the interval year period of the ADMM-Plus meeting from once in three years to once in two years in order to allow the defence ministers of the ADMM-Plus countries to have more frequent exchanges of views and perspectives on geo-strategic, regional security and defense issues as well as security challenges.

On the second document, added the press release, they agreed to further strengthen the ADMM-Plus mechanism in order to strengthen practical cooperation between ASEAN and the Plus countries on strategic, defence and security issues affecting the region. The Declaration also welcomes the initiatives undertaken by the 9th ASEAN Chief of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (9th ACDFIM) to enhance practical cooperation and interoperability among the militaries of the ASEAN Member States in order to strengthen the capacity of ASEAN in addressing transitional security threats.

The ASEAN defence ministers continued to reaffirm the ASEAN Member States’ commitment to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DoC) and to work toward the eventual realization of a regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (CoC) that will further promote peace and stability in the region.

They also agreed on the Concept Paper on the Development of ADMM Website and the Guidelines for Hosting the ADMM, ADMM-Plus and other Related Meetings.

The meeting also welcomed the Cambodian initiative on the establishment of the ASEAN Civil War Free Zone and the possibility of developing ASEAN Master Plan of Security Connectivity.

According to the press release, the 7th ADMM and 2nd ADMM-Plus will be hosted by Brunei Darussalam in 2013.

Sourced: Phnom Penh Post