KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday 4 November 2015 – The 3rd ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus concluded at the Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur on the 4 November 2015. Defence Ministers and senior defence officials from ASEAN and its Plus Partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and United States of America – attended the Meeting which was chaired by His Excellency Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister of Defence of Malaysia and Malaysia’s ADMM-Plus Leader.
The ADMM-Plus Defence Ministers meet biennially to discuss a plethora of key security challenges which includes natural disasters, terrorism and extremism, bio-terrorism and pandemic diseases, proliferation risks, the current transboundary haze situation, human trafficking, the South China Sea disputes and the tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
Faced with a multitude of non-traditional and traditional security threats, the Meeting acknowledged that the security situation can potentially be dire and reaffirmed the strategic importance of the ADMM-Plus and the need to elevate its strategic conversation and practical cooperation in order to address the evolving security environment of the region. The Ministers highlighted the enduring importance of openness, transparency, mutual trust, mutual benefit and respect to international law.
Concerning the South China Sea disputes, the Meeting had an open and frank discussions on the South China Sea in which the ADMM-Plus reaffirmed the respect for and commitment to the freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea as provided by the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Many ministers also reiterated the need for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).
The ADMM-Plus remains a platform for peaceful dialogue and practical cooperation in which the Meeting continued to stress their resolve to strengthening the defence cooperation and building mutual trust and confidence among the countries through the six Experts’ Working Groups that were established in the areas of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Military Medicine, Maritime Security, Counter Terrorism, Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Mine Action. The six Experts’ Working Groups will go on to conduct joint exercises next year to build interoperability, enhance militaries’ readiness and preparedness while building people-to-people links.
After the Meeting, a handover ceremony of the ADMM Chairmanship from Malaysia to the Lao People’s Republic Democratic was witnessed by the Plus Ministers.
Representing His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam was Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the sideline of the ADMM-Plus Meeting, the Defence Ministers had a courtesy call with Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Brunei Darussalam had also the opportunity to meet with Ministers from ASEAN and the Plus countries to reaffirm their close bilateral ties and warm friendship with one another.