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A MEETING OF MINDS: The ministers from the 10-member grouping when they called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG
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DEFENCE Ministers from all 10 Asean countries - at the second of their annual meetings - have agreed in principle to engage the grouping's friends and dialogue partners in defence and security talks.
In their joint declaration signed at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday, the ministers also endorsed an idea to step up 'practical and concrete cooperative activities' among Asean military forces.
A three-year work programme that kicks off next year will see stepped-up activities, as soldiers, sailors and airmen from Asean take part in seminars, workshops, training and exercises, said Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.
He was chairing a joint press conference attended by Asean defence ministers or their deputies.
On the idea of an ADMM- Plus - that is, an expanded Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting - Mr Teo said:
'Asean's future is increasingly intertwined with the fate of the larger Asia-Pacific region, and Asean countries will stand to gain by working with friends and dialogue partners to address transnational security challenges.'
Threats or issues that have repercussions that go beyond a country's borders include terrorism, or natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis.
Mr Teo said the ADMM wanted to tap on the 'varied perspectives, expertise and resources of Asean's friends and dialogue partners such as the United States, China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea', hence the idea of an 'ADMM-Plus'.
That said, Mr Teo indicated that this next step will be done 'at a pace comfortable to all Asean countries'.
As such, he said it was premature to name the partner countries involved and 'what precise sorts of engagement will take place'.
Sea and air lanes that crisscross the Asean region supply critical resources such as crude oil, rubber and minerals to the world's economic giants such as China, Japan and the US.
Indeed, economists estimate that about half the world's oil and a third of its commerce travel by sea through the region.
Yesterday's meeting built on talks at the inaugural session hosted in Malaysia in May last year.
A four-page Joint Declaration, signed by all members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - charts the direction for Asean militaries in the years ahead.
Asean members agreed the talks have helped foster the right climate for defence and security and defence cooperation.
This will help achieve Asean's vision of an 'open, dynamic and resilient' Security Community by 2015.
Apart from Asean issues, the press conference also saw Myanmar's Deputy Defence Minister, Major-General Aye Myint, attract a host of questions from journalists who quizzed him on September's crackdown on monks and democracy activists.
And as Asean ponders how ADMM-Plus should gain traction, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Najib Razak floated a proposal to strengthen disaster relief in the region.
He said Malaysia has offered the use of Subang Air Base to the United Nations World Food Programme, for disaster and relief programmes.
Winding up the discussions, Mr Teo said: 'While it is relatively new, the ADMM is a key pillar in the Asean Security Community'. He added that the defence ministers were committed to realising such a community by 2015 as envisioned by their leaders.
Thailand is due to host next year's meeting.
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dboey@sph.com.sg
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