BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Tuesday 28 October 2014 – The 9th ADMM-Plus EWG on Maritime Security Meeting was held today at The Centrepoint Hotel, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam.
Co-chairing the 9th ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Maritime Security Meeting were Colonel (L) Pg Norazmi bin Pg Haji Muhammad, Deputy Commander of Royal Brunei Navy, and Mr. Michael Thompson, Director International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand.
Officiating the meeting and the Table Top Exercise on Maritime Security was the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat. Also present during the event was Acting Director of Defence Policy Ministry of Defence, Haji Adi Ihram bin DP Haji Mahmud and representatives from ADMM-Plus countries.
In his Keynote Address, the Deputy Minister updates on the initiatives set by the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Maritime Security (EWG MS) which covers the proposal for online courses ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Community Information Sharing Portal, as well follow up on the initiative presented by New Zealand, ADMM-Plus Future Leaders’ Programme.
The outcome of the First Steering Committee of the combined FTX between the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism was also discussed as the way forward in keeping the positive momentum of the remarkable progress that has been reached so far by the EWG.
The Table Top Exercise on Maritime Security was also part of the 3-day event, which focuses on the various procedures of Search and Rescue (SAR) and Vessel, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) as well as identifying the existing on publications, references, SOPs and documents that could be incorporated within the framework.
The EWG on Maritime Security is part of the wider framework of cooperation under the ADMM-Plus platform that was created in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010. In addition to Maritime Security, there are five other EWGs that include fostering practical cooperation in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Military Medicine, Counter Terrorism, Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Mine Action.
The meeting welcomed the hosting of the 10th EWG MS in 2015 by New Zealand.