LUANG PRABANG, Friday 6 May 2016 – The 13th ASEAN Regional Forum Security Policy Conference (ASPC) was held at the Santi Resort, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. The Meeting was chaired by Major General Onesy Senesouk, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence, Lao PDR, and attended by representatives from 20 member nations of the ARF, ASEAN Secretariat and European Union. Brunei Darussalam was represented by YM Abu Sufian bin Haji Ali, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Development) and one officer from the Directorate of Defence Policy, Ministry of Defence.
The meeting saw an active discussion whereby member nations exchanged views on regional and international security issues, as well as looked into the challenges and best practices of confidence building measures. Member nations agreed that natural disasters, violent extremism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, maritime security threats, transnational crimes and more remain serious concerns for the region and beyond. The meeting acknowledged the importance of confidence and capacity building, information sharing and enhancing regional and international mechanisms as some of the many ways the member nations can cooperate to address these non-traditional security threats. The Meeting also stressed the importance of regional frameworks such as the ARF and ADMM-Plus as platforms for dialogue and practical cooperation.
Prior to the meeting, the ASEAN-China Informal breakfast was held whereby ASEAN member states and China expressed the importance of the ARF and ADMM-Plus in enhancing ASEAN-China relations, as well as reaffirmed the progress of ASEAN-China defence relations in the past year, including the successful conduct of the Xiangshan Forum, China-ASEAN Informal Defence Ministers’ Meeting and ADMM-Plus.
Furthermore, the ASEAN Regional Forum Defence Officials’ Dialogue (ARF DOD) was held on 5th May 2016, chaired by Lt Col Feuangxay Milakong, Director of ASEAN Political and Security Division, Ministry of National Defence, Lao PDR. During the Meeting, member nations exchanged views, shared experiences and best practices on civil-military cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and regional cyber security challenges.