PERTH, 20-22 July 2011 - The 1st ADMM-Plus Maritime Security EWG meeting was held from 20 to 22 July 2011 and hosted in Perth, Australia. The meeting was co-chaired by CDRE Vince Di Pietro, Director General Navy Capability, Plans and Engagement of Australia and Puan Suriani Ahmad, Undersecretary Policy and Strategic Planning, Ministry of Defence, Malaysia. The inaugural meeting was attended by most of the ADMM-Plus countries and representatives from ASEAN Secretariat; Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam. Brunei Darussalam was represented by officers from National Maritime Coordination Centre, Prime Ministers' Office and Ministry of Defence.
The meeting discussed on the big picture of maritime security; the role of defence in maritime security management, sharing information on maritime security threats/challenges and proposed activities on how to address those challenges. The meeting also saw presentations on Maritime Security Challenges in the Asia-Pacific by Professor Sam Bateman from Australian National Centre of Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong and Regional Maritime Security Deficits and Vulnerabilities + Opportunities for the EWG to address these by Mohammad Nizzam Basiron from Maritime Institute of Malaysia. Delegates were also given a tour to Australian Fremantle Ports and HMAS Stirling as part of the meeting program.
This Expert Working Group (EWG) on maritime security is responsible for:
• Assisting the ADMM-Plus in implementing ADMM-Plus decisions related to maritime security
• Recommending specific steps for practical maritime security cooperation
Overall, the meeting was successfully conducted and the aim of the working group on wider information sharing was achieved during the meeting. The working group will meet twice a year and the second meeting will be hosted by Malaysia tentatively in mid-January next year.