By Marina Abdullah Sitau, Dte Defence Policy
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Tuesday 2 April 2013 - The ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADSOM) convened this morning at the Songket Ballroom, Rizqun International Hotel. Chairing at the Meeting was Colonel (Retired) Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Azmansham Pengiran Haji Mohammad, Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Development), Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam.
Among the agenda discussed at the Meeting include preparation for the 7th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (7th ADMM) and the 2nd ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (2nd ADMM-Plus) that is scheduled to take place in Bandar Seri Begawan on 6-7 May 2013 and 29 August 2013 respectively. The ADSOM also acknowledged the various progress reports of the activities within the ADMM cooperation, which ranges from the ASEAN Defence Establishments and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security, the Establishment of the ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres Network, and the Establishment of the ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration.
The ADSOM also took note the report of the 6th Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (6th NADI) that was held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on 6 to 7 March 2013. Overall, these progress reports reflect the continuous and robust efforts made by ADMM Member States in contributing towards the realization of the ASEAN Community 2015, in particular the ASEAN Political-Security Community.
In the meeting today, the ADSOM discussed and considered a number of new initiatives which will further contribute towards the progress and wider development of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM). ADSOM also considered several new initiatives that will be brought forward to the ADMM for adoption. As part of the preparations towards the realization of the 2nd ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise (2nd AHX) that will be held in Brunei Darussalam on 16 June 2013, First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Abd Aziz bin Haji Mohd Tamit, Joint Force Commander, Royal Brunei Armed Forces, also enlightened the Meeting on the updates on the 2nd AHX, which is a Table-Top Exercise co-hosted by Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Singapore.
The ADMM is the highest defence mechanism within ASEAN. The annual ADMM facilitates the ASEAN Defence Ministers to discuss and exchange views on current defence and security issues and challenges faced in the region. The ADMM aims to promote mutual trust and confidence through greater understanding of defence and security challenges as well as enhancement of transparency and openness.