Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen chaired the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Singapore today.

During the meeting, Dr Ng led discussions on the key security issues facing the region. The Ministers also discussed the ADMM and ADMM-Plus' role in the regional security architecture. The Ministers expressed strong support for the ADMM's areas for 2018, summarised by "three Cs". First, enhance counter-terrorism cooperation; second, improve ASEAN's collective capability to respond to chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) threats from terrorist groups and rogue states; and third, to reaffirm the importance of code of unplanned encounters (CUES) on the sea and in the air.

Of these areas, the Ministers unanimously identified terrorism as the most serious security threat to the region. They agreed to step up counter-terrorism (CT) cooperation in the areas of "Resilience, Response, Recovery" which will serve to prevent terrorist attacks, coordinate ASEAN's responses to address ongoing threats, and recover from any terrorist attacks that do occur. The Ministers also commended the strong collaboration against terrorism with the Plus countries under the ambit of the ADMM-Plus. In line with this, the Ministers jointly issued a Statement on Countering Terrorism in ASEAN.

The ASEAN Defence Ministers also had an informal meeting with the Chinese Minister of National Defense General Chang Wanquan, where the Ministers welcomed stronger relations between ASEAN and China. In particular, the Ministers discussed ways to improve practical cooperation, and welcomed the conduct of an inaugural ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise at the end of this year.

As part of the ADMM Retreat programme, the ASEAN Defence Ministers also called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and was hosted to a luncheon by Prime Minister Lee at the Changi Exhibition Centre, where the Singapore Airshow 2018 is held. During the call, Prime Minister Lee and the ASEAN Defence Ministers discussed regional security issues and the ADMM agenda for the year ahead, in particular in enhancing CT collaboration. Dr Ng also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the other ASEAN Member States on the sidelines of the ADMM Retreat, where they reaffirmed their strong bilateral relationship.

The ADMM and ADMM-Plus are key Ministerial-level platforms in the regional security architecture to facilitate open and constructive dialogue on regional security issues. Both platforms have successfully built regional confidence and practical cooperation in domains such as maritime security and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Today, the ADMM and ADMM-Plus are key pillars of the ASEAN Political-Security Community.