BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Tuesday 21 October 2014 – The First Ad Hoc Working Group Meeting on Establishing A Direct Communications Link in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Process convenes today at The Centrepoint Hotel, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam.
This three-day Meeting was officiated by Abu Sufian bin Haji Ali, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Development), Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam.
Participants are from the ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as various departments and units from both the Ministry of Defence of Brunei Darussalam and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
The convening of this Meeting is another step ahead in the developing arrangement phase of the initiative on establishing a Direct Communications Link (DCL) in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM).
The process up to now has clearly focused on the follow-up to the decisions taken at the 8th ADMM last May in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, that is ultimately to activate the DCL by 2015 in Malaysia.
This DCL initiative is aimed at providing a permanent, rapid, reliable and confidential means by which any two ASEAN Defence Ministers may communicate with each other to arrive at mutual decisions in handling crisis or emergency situations, in particular related to maritime security, with the objectives to prevent or defuse misunderstandings and misinterpretations, and therefore to prevent escalation; and to promote quick-response cooperation in emergency situations.
The goal would not be to resolve underlying issues, but to effectively manage and contain tensions in the event of a possible military encounter, to foster de-escalation, and to provide channel for initial quick reaction and assistance in emergency situations.
It has been a valuable process so far, ever since during the last year’s ADMM in Brunei Darussalam when it started to evolve, where the ASEAN Defence Ministers have responded to the call made by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, 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 main objectives of the Meeting are to discuss and come up with the technical, technological and security parameters of the communications systems of the DCL; and to discuss on the way forward.