Joint Declaration by 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting

JOINT DECLARATION

OF THE ASEAN DEFENCE MINISTERS ON

ENHANCING ASEAN UNITY FOR A HARMONISED AND SECURE COMMUNITY

WE, the Defence Ministers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and the Minister of Energy of Brunei Darussalam, gathered here in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, on 29 May 2012 for the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM);

RECALLING the signing of the Bali Declaration on ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations (Bali Concord III) on 17 November 2011 which calls for a strengthened ASEAN Community with the ASEAN Charter as the foundation, while upholding the fundamental principles, values and norms of ASEAN;

RECOGNISING the outcome of the 20th ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, which was held on 2-3 April 2012; and committing to implement the Phnom Penh Agenda for ASEAN Community Building and the Phnom Penh Declaration on ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny;

REAFFIRMING the commitment of the ADMM to enhance defence cooperation in ASEAN and to contribute towards the realisation of an ASEAN Community, including the ASEAN Political-Security Community by 2015;

ADHERING to the principle of ASEAN centrality, where ASEAN is the driving force in the ADMM-Plus;

EMPHASISING the importance of the ADMM-Plus as an important platform to foster constructive engagement between ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners on strategic, defence and security cooperation affecting the region;

UNDERSCORING the role of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups (EWGs) as platforms for practical cooperation and acknowledging the positive progress made by the five EWGs on maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-terrorism, military medicine, and peacekeeping since their establishment in

WELCOMING the recommendation of the ADMM Retreat held on 24 October 2011 in Bali, Indonesia, to review the frequency of ADMM-Plus meetings;

NOTING with satisfaction the results of the Ninth ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM), which was held on 29 March 2012 in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, and commending the progress made by the ASEAN militaries in enhancing practical cooperation;

WELCOMING the ASEAN Militaries' Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Table-top Exercise held in July 2011 as the first exercise amongst the ASEAN militaries and as a concrete demonstration of practical cooperation; and supporting the conduct of the second exercise, which will be held in Brunei Darussalam in 2013;

DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:

Adopt the Concept Paper on Review of Frequency of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus Meetings, which shortens the interval of ADMM-Plus meetings from three to two years commencing after the ADMM-Plus in 2013;

Support Indonesia and Thailand to co-host the 1st Meeting on the Establishment of ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres Network, which will be held in June 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand;

Further strengthen the ADMM and ADMM-Plus as key venues for fostering practical cooperation and engagement between ASEAN and its Plus Countries on strategic as well as defence and security issues affecting the region, which contributes towards promoting stable defence relations and military-to-military interactions in the region;

Deepen practical cooperation through the five ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups so as to strengthen the region's capacity and effectiveness in addressing common security challenges;

Support the conduct of the ADMM-Plus HADR/Military Medicine exercise in Brunei Darussalam in 2013 as a concrete demonstration of practical cooperation;

Welcome the initiatives undertaken by the ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting to forge practical cooperation and to enhance interoperability among the ASEAN militaries with a view to enhancing ASEAN's capacity to address transnational security challenges;

Continue to reaffirm ASEAN Member States' commitment to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea, and to work toward the adoption of a regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that will further promote peace and stability in the region;

Underscore the importance of freedom of navigation in, and over-flight above, the South China Sea as provided for by universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);

Welcome the ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF) as a venue for enhancing regional maritime cooperation, including the proposal to convene an expanded AMF as noted by the 19th ASEAN Summit and the 6th East Asia Summit, and reinforce the ADMM's efforts to actively participate in the Forum; and

Welcome Brunei Darussalam's Chairmanship of ASEAN and its hosting of the 7th ADMM and the 2nd ADMM-Plus in 2013.

SIGNED in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, on the Twenty Ninth Day of May in the Year Two Thousand and Twelve, in a single original copy in English language.

For Brunei Darussalam:

PEHIN DATU SINGAMANTERI COLONEL (RTD)

DATO SERI PADUKA HAJI MOHAMMAD YASMIN BIN HAJI UMAR

 Minister for Energy

__________________

For the Kingdom of Cambodia:

GENERAL TEA BANH

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence

__________________

For the Republic of Indonesia:

PURNOMO YUSGIANTORO

Minister of Defence

__________________

For the Lao People's Democratic Republic:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL DOUANGCHAY PHICHITH

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence

__________________

For Malaysia:

DATO' SERI DR AHMAD ZAHID HAMIDI

Minister of Defence

__________________

For the Republic of the Union of Myanmar:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL HLA MIN

Minister of Defence

__________________

For the Republic of the Philippines:

VOLTAIRE T. GAZMIN

Secretary of National Defence

__________________

For the Republic of Singapore:

DR NG ENG HEN

Minister for Defence

__________________

For the Kingdom of Thailand:

AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SUKUMPOL SUWANATAT

Minister of Defence

__________________

For the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:

GENERAL PHUNG QUANG THANH

Minister of National Defence

More Resources

• Dr Ng Eng Hen Attends 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh