INDONESIA, Friday 23 March 2012 - The 2nd Jakarta international Defence Dialogue (JIDD) has just been concluded in Indonesia last Friday. The three-day conference was officially opened by H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia and featured prominent speakers including Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E.Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Timor Leste, H.E. Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Defence Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Defence of Singapore.
Brunei Darussalam's Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Mustappa Haji Sirat, who was also one of the speakers, presented on "International Military Operations Other Than War, Coordination Cooperation In Support of Regional and Global Security and Stability".
In his presentation, the Deputy Minister referred to the increasing need for 'soft' military solutions in addressing non-traditional security challenges and shared Brunei Darussalam's experience in MOOTW, including in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and in peacekeeping and peace support operations.
The Deputy Minister stated that MOOTW played an important role as a regional mechanism in contributing to regional and international peace. He stressed the importance of MOOTW in areas of conflict, particularly in forging confidence among conflicting parties. He argued that MOOTW was the prevention of conflict in itself, and that collaboration in those areas represented the best form of preventive diplomacy the region could offer. Strengthening cooperation in MOOTW could further build trust and confidence in the region, and in that regard, the ADMM and the ADMM Plus provided an important platform to discuss cooperative mechanisms.
The Deputy Minister also made separate calls on the Minister of Defence of Indonesia, H.E. Purnomo Yusgiantoro and the Deputy Minister of Defence of Indonesia, H.E. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, to discuss matters relating to promoting defence cooperation between the two sides. He also visited the new Indonesia Peacekeeping Center in Sentul, Bogor.
Also attending the conference was the Commander of The Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin. The Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces also took the opportunity of having a bilateral meeting on the sidelines, with Vice Admiral A. Bruce Donaldson, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Forces.
The Jakarta International Defence Dialogue is an annual event which brings together Defence Ministers, Chiefs of Defence Forces and other senior defence and military officials to discuss regional defence and security issues.