SAPPORO, JAPAN, Tuesday 8 September 2015 - The 7th Japan-ASEAN Defense Vice-Ministerial Forum, chaired by Mr. Hideshi Tokuchi, Japan’s Vice-Minister of Defense for International Affairs, was held from the 6 – 8 September 2015 in Sapporo.
Representing Brunei Darussalam was Datin Paduka Hajah Suriyah binti Haji Umar, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam, accompanied by officers from the Directorate of Defence Policy.
This year, the forum focused on exchanging views on three topics which are “To Promote Common Rules and Laws at Sea and in the Air”, “To Enhance Maritime and Aerospace Security” and to “To Improve Disaster Response Capability”. Brunei Darussalam reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability within the maritime region and expressed its continuous commitment in pursuing practical cooperation under the ADMM and ADMM-Plus to enhance maritime security, one of which is the Direct Communications Link (DCL), an initiative spearheaded by Brunei Darussalam itself. Brunei Darussalam provided a status update on the DCL project to all the ASEAN Member States and Japan. The meeting also exchanged its views on the many measures under the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts within the many different multilateral frameworks. Participants noted the necessity to improve interoperability and information exchange during the time of disaster in order to reinforce coordination among military forces, as well as civil-military disaster response efforts. The forum saw opportunities for both ASEAN and Japan to discuss possible cooperation to undertake in order to further elevate the already close ties between ASEAN and Japan.
Prior to the forum, a keynote address on behalf of Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Minister of Defence of Malaysia was given by Secretary General Dato’ Sri Abdul Rahim bin Mohamad Radzi, ADSOM-Leader of Malaysia. In his address, Dato’ Sri Rahim stated the current status and future course of ASEAN’s efforts in the area of security and expressed his expectations for an increased contributions from Japan to the ASEAN region in maintaining the peace and stability of the region.
At the sidelines of the forum, Datin Paduka Hajah Suriyah made several bilateral calls to the other ASEAN Member States. During the bilateral calls, Brunei Darussalam expressed support and commitment to enhancing the existing warm defence relations with them.
The last day of the forum was dedicated to a visit to the Chitose Air Base and Lake Shikotsu.