Defence discussions kick off today

Daniel Wood
BRUNEI-MUARA

ASEAN Defence Ministers to meet for ADMM retreat, 2nd ADMM-Plus

ASEAN Defence Ministers are set to convene for a series of meetings here in Brunei Darussalam from Tuesday onwards for the second ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus meeting which is scheduled to take place from August 27 to 30.

More than 100 foreign media representatives are expected to be present in Brunei for a series of ASEAN defence meetings this week.

A media walkthrough was held on Monday for local media and foreign representatives, where Ministry of Defence public relations officers provided a brief overview of the scheduled programmes and outlined the possibilities for media coverage.

The schedule of deliberations among ASEAN defence ministers will be behind closed doors, stated the officials however there will be live video feeds made available throughout the meetings to ensure that media representatives are well provided for.

External media coverage is expected to be light, although a press conference has been scheduled shortly after the highlight of the meetings which is the signing of the Bandar Seri Begawan Joint Declaration of the 2nd ADMM-Plus on August 29.

Dedicated media relations officers will be present on both days to assisst and provide journalists with access to certain restricted zones throughout the coverage.

Defence ministers representing ASEAN and dialogue partner nations will meet tomorrow for the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Retreat, followed by the 2nd ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (2nd ADMM-Plus) on the following day.

Most of the dignitaries will be arriving today, including ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh.

Participants of the retreat on Wednesday are scheduled to take part in recreational activities, capping off with an ASEAN-US Defence Ministers informal meeting after lunch.

Bilateral meetings are understood to take place on the same afternoon at The Empire Hotel & Country Club in Jerudong.

Ministers attending the 2nd ADMM-Plus meeting on Thursday are expected to discuss developments on the areas of practical cooperation through the five 'Experts' Working Groups' already established namely disaster management; military medicine; peacekeeping operations; maritime security and counter-terrorism.

The delegates will also witness the handover of the ADMM Chairmanship to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar before holding audience with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

The programme will then proceed to the signing of the joint declaration based on agreed points of discussion.

Meanwhile on Friday, meeting participants will visit the Multi-National Coordination Centre in Muara - the focal point for June's ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (HADR & MM Ex). A recap of the HADR will take place, followed by a possible light simulation exercise demonstration.

The final event will be a reception on board the offshore patrol vessel, KDB Darussalam.

During the 1st ADMM-Plus meeting in Vietnam in 2010, most ministers had expressed concern on non-traditional security challenges, including piracy, cyber security and climate change.

The meeting's outcome recognised the need for cooperation within ASEAN and with external partners in addressing outstanding issues to meet the objectives of an ASEAN Political-Security Community by 2015.

Ministers from ten ASEAN member nations are expected to attend, as well as representatives from dialogue partners including Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times