Terrorism and South China Sea Tabled as ASEAN Celebrates Defence Cooperation

摘要

ASEAN defence ministers on May 25 signed a joint declaration after the 10th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) laying out common commitments and goals for defence cooperation and regional security. The joint declaration "underscored the ADMM's resolve to cooperate internationally and regionally to combat the transnational threat of terrorism, as well as its commitment to (practise) and observe international protocols such as the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES)." During the ADMM, the ministers discussed regional security issues and commended the good progress in practical cooperation under the ambit of the ADMM and the ADMM-Plus, which includes the ASEAN countries and eight "Plus" countries-Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US. During the deliberations there was "strong commitment to enhance cooperation to address the terrorist threat as well as prevent terrorism and violent extremism from gaining a foothold in Southeast Asia. The ministers agreed that defence and military establishments can play a key role in the fight against terrorism, such as by building up information and intelligence-sharing platforms, combining resources for coordinated operations and enhancing confidence and capability building mechanisms.