India has reportedly downgraded participation from the Defence Minister to that of Minister of State for Defence for the 2nd ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (Plus) ADMM Plus met at Brunei on 28-29 August, 2013. The Minister of State for Defence, Shri Jitendra Singh will attend now attend the Meet and will be accompanied by an official delegation which includes theChief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), Lt Gen Anil Chait and other officials from Services, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs as per a Ministry of Defence Press Release.
India is a member of the ADMM Plus, which is a forum of the Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN and 8 non – ASEAN countries. The 2nd ADMM Plus meeting is being held 3 years after the inaugural meeting was held in Hanoi, Vietnam in October, 2010.
The objective of the ADMM Plus is to foster cooperation between the member countries to promote peace and stability, to address common security challenges and to enhance mutual trust and confidence between the defence establishments of member countries through dialogue and exchanges. In the last 3 years, a number of practical cooperation initiatives have been implemented under the ADMM Plus format, through 5 Expert Working Groups (on Maritime Security, Counter Terrorism, Peace Keeping Operations, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine).
During the 2nd meeting of the ADMM Plus at Brunei, member States are expected to discuss a range of security issues, as well as measures to promote cooperation among the defence establishments. A joint declaration is expected to be issued at the end of the meeting.
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