Joint Declaration by 7th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM JOINT DECLARATION OF

THE ASEAN DEFENCE MINISTERS

 "SECURING OUR PEOPLE, OUR FUTURE TOGETHER"

WE, the Defence Ministers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, 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 at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam, and the Secretary General, Ministry of Defence, Malaysia, gathered here in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on 7 May 2013 for the Seventh ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (hereinafter referred to as "ADMM");

REAFFIRMING FURTHER our adherence and commitment to the purposes and principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter;

INSPIRED by and united under One Vision, One Identity and One Caring and Sharing Community, with a view to promoting a people-oriented ASEAN in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate and benefit from the process of ASEAN integration and community building;

RECALLING the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for the ASEAN Community (2009 - 2015) adopted at the 14^th ASEAN Summit held on 1 March 2009 in Phetchaburi province, Thailand, which strategically set out a clear vision and direction to achieve the community building by 2015, in order to serve the peoples of ASEAN;

RECALLING ALSO the outcomes of the 22^nd ASEAN Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, which was held on 24 - 25 April 2013, and committing to further intensify the work to realise an ASEAN Community that is politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible in order to take advantage of current and future opportunities, and effectively respond to regional and international challenges;

RECALLING FURTHER the inaugural ADMM in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 9 May 2006 as a historic event in the evolution of ASEAN, which has paved the way for consolidating and strengthening defence and military interactions within the ASEAN framework;  

ENCOURAGED by the significant achievements of the ADMM in the last seven years in promoting regional peace and stability through dialogue and cooperation in defence and security issues, with a view to adding value and complementing the overall ASEAN process;

DETERMINED to enhance cooperation within ADMM to contribute towards realising the ASEAN Community as envisaged in the ASEAN Charter and, in particular, the establishment of an ASEAN Political-Security Community by 2015;

EMPHASIZING that defence cooperation remains vital in building regional peace and security as well as in securing the well-being of our peoples, and our future together;

RECOGNISING the need to respond effectively, in accordance with the principle of comprehensive security, to all forms of threats, including new and emerging security challenges;

SHARING THE BELIEF that further broadening and deepening of cooperation in non-traditional security areas will continue to serve the security interests of the ASEAN peoples and is essential for promoting peace, stability and development in the region;

RECOGNISING ALSO the need to promote and enhance people-to-people interaction within the ASEAN defence and military establishments, with a view to creating an ASEAN sense of belonging that is in line with the goal of a people-centred ASEAN; 

REITERATING the strategic importance of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) as an effective platform to foster constructive dialogue and cooperation between ASEAN and the Plus countries, with a view to building capacity, developing expertise and enhancing coordination in areas that can contribute to regional peace and stability;

REAFFIRMING FURTHER our determination to maintain ASEAN centrality and our proactive role as the primary driving force in the relations and cooperation with the Plus countries in the ADMM-Plus process;

COMMENDING the substantial achievements of the ADMM-Plus process in forging practical cooperation, in particular, through the work of the five ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups (EWGs) on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Maritime Security, Military Medicine, Counter-Terrorism and Peacekeeping Operations;

REAFFIRMING ASEAN Member States' commitment to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the South China Sea, and mindful of the Joint Statement of the 15^th ASEAN-China Summit on the 10^th Anniversary of the DOC, and support our Leaders' commitment at the 22^nd ASEAN Summit for ASEAN to work actively with China towards the early conclusion of a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea to promote peace and stability;

RECOGNISING the contribution of the ASEAN militaries in substantively advancing cooperation within the ASEAN defence sector;

NOTING WITH GREAT SATISFACTION the results of the Tenth ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) in Bandar Seri Begawan on 20 March 2013, and related ASEAN militaries meetings, and commending the progress made in enhancing practical cooperation and in achieving tangible results through their comprehensive and forward-looking Two-Year Activity Work Plan;

REAFFIRMING shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity;

DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:

1. Further strengthen and intensify the ADMM's efforts in promoting regional peace and stability through dialogue and cooperation towards a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient ASEAN Political-Security Community;

2. Undertake appropriate measures and initiatives to increase the level of ASEAN awareness within the ASEAN defence and military establishments to promote ASEAN identity building in support of an ASEAN Political-Security Community; 

3. Continue to strengthen existing bonds of regional solidarity through defence cooperation in order to effectively respond to current and future challenges and opportunities;

4. Strengthen ASEAN's centrality through the ADMM's proactive role as the primary driving force in regional defence cooperation and community building;

5. Commit to deepening cooperation by developing more concrete and action-oriented measures;

6. Adopt the Concept Paper on Establishing ASEAN Defence Interaction Programmes, which will serve as guidance to promote and enhance people-to-people contacts within the ASEAN defence and military establishments;

7. Adopt the Concept Paper on the Establishment of Logistics Support Framework, which will serve as guidance to support coordination mechanisms in mobilizing military assets and capacities as appropriate, towards a more cohesive and effective response to non-traditional security challenges;

8. Note Cambodia's proposal to conduct a workshop on the establishment of a study group on ASEAN Civil-War-Free Zone, which aims to ensure that the region remains peaceful and stable, and to completely eliminate all civil wars in the region;

9. Welcome the results of the First Meeting of the Establishment of ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres Network, co-chaired by Thailand and Indonesia on 4 - 7 September 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand, which fosters friendship and strengthens the relationship amongst ASEAN Member States;

10. Reaffirm the significant role played by the ASEAN militaries and encourage them to further advance their cooperation through practical and concrete cooperative activities, with a view to enhancing capacity-building and increasing interoperability to address non-traditional and transnational security issues and challenges;

11. Strengthen the operational effectiveness and preparedness in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) and in this regard welcome the Second ASEAN Militaries' Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise (AHX) to be held in Brunei Darussalam in June 2013;

12. Strive to advance the achievements of the ADMM-Plus in promoting greater dialogue as well as collective and cooperative efforts between ASEAN and its Plus countries to both harness opportunities and meet the challenges posed by non-traditional and transnational security threats;

13. Recognise the importance and fully support the inaugural ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (ADMM-Plus HADR and MM Ex) to be held in Brunei Darussalam in June 2013 as a landmark cooperation amongst the defence forces of the ADMM-Plus Member States, which contributes towards the building of regional capacity in addressing non-traditional security challenges in particular disaster management;

14. Adopt the Concept Paper on the Establishment of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action, which will promote practical and effective cooperation between ASEAN Member States and Plus Countries in dealing with the remnants of war in the region;

15. Adopt the Concept Paper on the Transition of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group Co-Chairmanship, which will serve as an effective guide for future transitions and provides the necessary procedures that will support any additions to the existing ADMM-Plus EWG and their co-chairmanship;

16. Approve the new set of co-chairs of the ADMM-Plus EWGs for the next cycle starting after the ADSOM-Plus in April 2014 in Myanmar;

17. Support efforts and commitment to promote greater transparency, confidence building and understanding of regional security challenges and perceptions in Southeast Asia including through the first publication of the ASEAN Security Outlook (ASO); and

18. Welcome Myanmar's Chairing of ASEAN and its hosting of the Eighth ADMM in 2014.

DONE at Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, this Seventh Day of May in the Year Two Thousand and Thirteen, in a single original copy in the English Language.

For Brunei Darussalam:

PEHIN DATU SINGAMANTERI COLONEL (RTD) DATO SERI SETIA (DR) AWANG HAJI MOHAMMAD YASMIN HAJI UMAR
Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office

For the Kingdom of Cambodia:

GENERAL TEA BANH
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense

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 Defense 

For Malaysia:

DATO' SRI DR HAJI ISMAIL HAJI AHMAD
Secretary General, Ministry of Defence

For the Republic of the Union of Myanmar:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL WAI LWIN
Union Minister for Defence

For the Republic of the Philippines:

VOLTAIRE T. GAZMIN
Secretary of National Defense

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

Minister for Defence in Brunei for 7th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting