HONOLULU, HAWAII, Thursday 3 April 2014 – The Informal US-ASEAN Defense Meeting was held on 3 April 2014 in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. The Meeting was chaired by the US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and attended by the ASEAN Defence Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN.
The Meeting discussed a wide range of regional security and defence issues including ways to strengthen defence cooperation, particularly in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Brunei Darussalam expressed its condolences to the United States on the Fort Hood incident, and to Malaysia on the MH370 tragedy.
The ASEAN Defence Ministers also issued a Joint Statement on the MH370 tragedy expressing their sympathy, and reaffirming their commitment for greater cooperation, especially in the field of disaster management under the framework of the ASEAN Agreement Disaster Management and Emergency Response.
A Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief Roundtable was held a day earlier at the Inouye Regional Center on Fort Island. It was co-chaired by Secretary Hagel and the United States Agency for International Development Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah. The Roundtable discussed on the whole-of-government approaches towards humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, role of non-military actors during disaster response, and regional challenges and opportunities for cooperation.
The ASEAN Defence Ministers also had an opportunity to tour the new amphibious ship, the USS Anchorage, at the Pearl Harbor and also the military aircrafts stationed at the Joint Hickam Base.
Brunei Darussalam was represented by Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy at the Prime Ministers' Office.
At the sidelines of this Meeting, Yang Berhormat Pehin Yasmin had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Malaysia and Myanmar.