NAY PYI TAW, MYANMAR, Tuesday 20 May 2014 - The 8th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (8th ADMM) was held today at The Hotel Royal ACE, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The Meeting was chaired by His Excellency Lieutenant General Wai Lwin, Union Minister for Defence, Republic of the Union of Myanmar / Chairman of the 8th ADMM.
At the outset, Brunei Darussalam paid a tribute to the late Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and his wife Madam Thanda Phichith. The demise of the late Lieutenant General Phichith is a great lost to Laos, to the ADMM, and to the region.
The Meeting also expressed their deepest condolences and sympathies to the Government and People of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and issued a Joint Statement on the tragic plane crash in Xieng Khouang province, Laos on 17 May 2014, which had taken the lives of several Lao leaders and senior government officials, including Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith and his wife Madam Thanda Phichith. Lieutenant General Phichith had been part of the ADMM since its inauguration in 2006.
During the Meeting, the ADMM Leaders was briefed on the recent developments in ASEAN, the outcomes of the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting and the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus held in April 2014 in Nay Pyi Taw, as well as the outcomes of the 11th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting held in March 2014 in Nay Pyi Taw.
The ADMM Leaders adopted the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Three-Year Work Plan 2014 – 2016; and two new concept papers, namely the Concept Paper on Establishing A Direct Communications Link in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting, initiated by Brunei Darussalam, and the Additional Protocol to the Concept Papers for the Establishment of an ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), initiated by Singapore.
During the Meeting, Brunei Darussalam expressed its deepest appreciation for the full support of establishing a direct communications link in the ADMM process. This initiative is aimed not only to prevent or defuse misunderstandings and misinterpretations, and therefore to prevent escalation, but to promote quick-response cooperation in emergency situations. The goal would not be to resolve underlying issues, but to effectively manage and contain tensions, and to provide channel for initial quick reaction and assistance in emergency situations.
The ADMM Leaders expressed their full support for the direct communications link initiative to be implemented at next year’s ADMM in Malaysia.
ASEAN Defence Ministers have responded to the call made by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam last year, in His Majesty’s capacity as the Chairman of the 22nd ASEAN Summit, in supporting the idea of putting in place practical procedures, which could assist in avoiding undesired incidents at sea.
The ADMM Leaders also exchanged views on regional and international security and defence issues. Some touched upon traditional security challenges, including territorial issues, the situation in the Korean Peninsula and Ukraine. Most have expressed concerns on non-traditional security challenges, including terrorism, maritime security, natural disasters, infectious diseases and cyber security. In that regards, the ADMM Leaders stressed the importance of cooperation within and outside ASEAN in dealing with these issues, such as search and rescue, anti-piracy and humanitarian mine action.
On the South China Sea issues, the ADMM Leaders supported the outcomes of the 24th ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw on 11 May 2014, which called on all parties to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) to undertake full and effective implementation of the DOC in its entirety in order to create an environment of mutual trust and confidence, to exercise self-restraint, not to resort to threat or use of force, and to resolve disputes by peaceful means in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The ADMM Leaders adopted the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Joint Declaration of the ASEAN Defence Ministers: “Defence Cooperation towards Peaceful and Prosperous ASEAN Community”, which reaffirmed their commitment towards regional unity.
After the Meeting, the ASEAN Defence Ministers had a Call to His Excellency U Thein Sein, President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
The ASEAN Defence Ministers are scheduled to meet China’s Minister of National Defence General Chang Wanquan this afternoon at the ASEAN-China Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting.
Representing His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzadin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to the 8th ADMM is Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office.