Remarks by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the 2nd Putrajaya Forum

It is my pleasure to be on this panel together with Dato' Alagappa, Secretary Lukyanov and Minister Howarth. First let me thank MIDAS for inviting us to this 2nd Putrajaya Forum and the great hospitality shown by the Minister of Defence, Secretary-General, Chiefs of Services, and fellow ministers.
I would like to focus my remarks for this panel discussion on Asian countries within our region, and especially on ASEAN, as our immediate neighbourhood. I also prefer to use emerging "economies", rather than emerging "powers", as a more encompassing term for influences which countries can exert as they develop.

The topic is relevant because Asia is indeed rising. According to one estimate, China's economy will grow to US$16 trillion in 2030, quadruple to what it is today. The IMF projects that China could become the world's largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms in 2016. India's economy is projected to grow to nearly US$6 trillion in 2030, almost quadruple jump to what it is today. By 2025, India is projected to overtake China as the most populous nation in the World. ASEAN with 600 million people, and a combined GDP of US$1.2 trillion in 2010 is expected to grow to 740 million people and US$3 trillion in economy in 2030. Trade between Asian countries is robust. China is already now the leading trade partner for ASEAN, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Pari passu with this economic growth, Asian countries have also used their increasing wealth to modernise their militaries. Military spending in Asia posted a 64% increase in the last 10 years, more than five times that of Europe's 12% in the same time period. Even assuming that countries continue to spend the same proportion of GDP for defence, total spending is expected to rise further in Asia, at least for the next decade or so, and seems likely at some point to surpass that of Europe.

The question is that how should a rising Asia, with greater resources and military capability, ensure continued stability in the future. As the panel topic suggests, the growth of emerging economies presents both challenges and opportunities to cooperate.

Asian countries have a greater stake and must do more to maintain and strengthen the stability of the global commons, which have provided the necessary conditions for their growth and progress. This is already happening. For example, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea are members of the G20, while others like Vietnam and Singapore have participated in recent G20 discussions.

On the security front, Asian countries are also contributing to international security efforts. For example, in the counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden, navies from China, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have deployed their ships for this effort. South Korea, Mongolia, Malaysia and Singapore have also participated in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.

It is a good sign that Asia is contributing to the international order, but we can do more. I would suggest two further areas of focus. Firstly, on governance and protection of our environment. As emerging economies, Asian countries should build strong institutions that provide opportunities and equal access for their people to achieve their full potential. We recognise the diversity of historical and socio-cultural backdrops within Asian nations. There can be fruitful discussions on the type of governance structures that are effective for various countries, based on rule of law and democratic principles. In this, we can learn from both the strengths of developed countries as well as their shortcomings.

Even as we grow and build cities in Asia, we must also preserve and enhance our living environment. The frantic pace of infrastructural development within Asia necessitates conversations in areas related to city planning, transportation, water and food security and environmental conservation, to name a few. We must avoid repeating the mistakes of degrading our living environment due to rapid urbanisation.

The second area of focus is on security in the Asia-Pacific region. We need an inclusive framework - a regional security architecture - that can bring together all the stakeholders in the region, accommodate their interests and aspirations, and facilitate cooperative efforts to tackle the common challenges. We have over the years built a multi-layered regional architecture with a good mix of different platforms. We have large multilateral fora such as the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus and the ASEAN Regional Forum. We also have informal, Track 1.5 meetings such as the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Jakarta International Defense Dialogue and this forum, the Putrajaya Forum. We also have functional groupings such as the Malacca Strait Patrols and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), which are formed to address specific challenges. Together, all these layers strengthen the overall architecture by providing various opportunities for all the regional stakeholders to come together for dialogue and cooperate in substantive ways. We must enhance these platforms.

The ADMM-Plus, in particular, can play a useful role in bringing together the stakeholders in the region to address common security challenges, given its more focussed, and yet inclusive, membership with all the emerging economies in Asia represented. The ADMM-Plus has made good progress on the practical cooperation front, despite the fact that it was only established in 2010. The inaugural ADMM-Plus in 2010 had agreed to advance practical cooperation among the 18 ADMM-Plus militaries. This is through the establishment of Experts' Working Groups or EWGs in five areas for a start -humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, peacekeeping operations, counter-terrorism and military medicine. This is a unique avenue which defence establishments have in addition to our defence diplomacy act. We can have our militaries exercise together to build confidence, understanding, and stable military relations. The EWGs are now working towards the holding of joint exercises to build this confidence and mutual understanding.
Militaries working together will improve understanding, trust and confidence. This will reduce the risk of misunderstanding and tensions, as well as allow us to enhance our collective ability to tackle the complex security challenges confronting us.

I want to thank again the organisers for this opportunity to share some thoughts and I look forward to further discussions. Thank you very much.

More Resources

• Dr Ng Eng Hen attends Defence and Security Forum and Exhibition in Malaysia