Joint Declaration of the ASEAN Defence Ministers on Maintaining Regional Security and Stability for and by the People

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 Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam, gathered here in Langkawi, Malaysia on 16 March 2015 for the Ninth ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (hereinafter referred to as "ADMM");

RECALLING the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for the ASEAN Community (2009-2015) adopted at the 14th ASEAN Summit on 1st March 2009 in Thailand that reaffirms commitment to establish an ASEAN Community comprising the three pillars of political-security community, economic community and socio- cultural community;

COGNISANT of the importance to strengthen and sustain ASEAN integration and community building towards creation of a people-centred and people-oriented ASEAN, and further need to develop ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision, including the ADMM and ADMM-Plus inputs to chart ASEAN's ongoing efforts for regional integration;

RECALLING 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;

RECALLING the establishment of the ADMM in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in May 2006 as a significant milestone for the evolution of ASEAN security and defence cooperation in contributing towards   building the ASEAN Political Security Community;

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

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

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 the Joint Statement of the 15th  ASEAN-China Summit on the 10th  Anniversary of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and ready for expeditiously working towards an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC);

NOTING with satisfaction the significant progress and results that have been made in the area of defence and security cooperation since the ADMM and ADMM-Plus were established in 2006 and 2010, respectively;

ADHERING to the principle of ASEAN centrality, where ASEAN is the driving force in the ADMM-Plus to deal with security issues and non-traditional threats;

EXPRESSING satisfaction with the positive results of the 9th ADMM, which was held in Langkawi, Malaysia, on 16 March 2015 under the theme "ASEAN: Maintaining Regional Security And Stability For And By The People" in keeping with the goals of people-centred, people-oriented ASEAN and ASEAN togetherness;

RECOGNIZING and commending the outcomes of the 12th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces' Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) which was held on 10 February 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, including the discussion and proposal to formalize ACDFIM and to enhance practical cooperation of ASEAN militaries;

ACKNOWLEDGING the significant role as played by the militaries in HADR and the opportunity for more coordinated and effective deployment;

OBSERVING the various mechanisms in place that tackle similar security issues and acknowledging the limited financial and human resources available;

AGREEING to the hosting of the Second ASEAN Defence Interaction Programme (ADIP) by Malaysia which aims at networking and strengthening cooperation among the young officers in the military and defence establishments;

NOTING the hosting of the Fourth ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration (ADIC) in March 2015 by Malaysia which aims to promote collective industrial collaboration and reduce defence imports by ASEAN;

COMMENDING the progress and achievements of the Establishment of Logistics Support Framework which provides an ideal opportunity for ASEAN Member States to share ideas among disaster management practitioners;

COMPLIMENTING the progress of cooperation under the ASEAN Defence Establishments and CSOs Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security issues;

COMMENDING the progress of cooperation under ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres Network (APCN) and its potential for closer and constructive cooperation;

COMMENDING the efforts and progress in Establishing a Direct Communications Link in the ADMM Process for secure and effective communication;

NOTING the development of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Utilisation  of  Military Assets  for  HADR  Under  the  Framework of AADMER  at ACDFIM, and its relevance as input for Chapter VI of the Standard Operating Procedure for Regional Standby Arrangements and Coordination of Joint Disaster Relief and Emergency Response Operation (SASOP) for faster and   more coordinated facilitation of provision of assets in HADR operations;

ACKNOWLEDGING the role of Track II defence diplomacy as played by Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institution (NADI) in providing relevant inputs and recommendations in addressing emerging defence and security challenges;

NOTING with serious concern the rise of violence and brutality committed by the self-declared Islamic State and other terrorist / extremists organizations and radical groups in Iraq and Syria, and condemning all terrorist acts of destruction and violence as carried out by these and other terrorist / extremist organisations and radical groups, whose impacts increasingly poses a threat to all regions of the world;

ACKNOWLEDGING the ASEAN Member States' support in the search and rescue operation of the Indonesian and Malaysian-affiliated AirAsia flight QZ 8501, and expressing deepest condolences and sympathies towards the families of the victims;

DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:

CONTRIBUTE towards the development of the ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision and the attendant documents to promote the role of the ADMM and the ADMM-Plus in consolidating the ASEAN Community and maintaining regional peace and stability;

AFFIRM, with regard to military missions on non-traditional security issues like HADR, that actions shall be in accordance with ASEAN's principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity  of assisted states, and that participation of ASEAN Member States hall be on the basis of flexibility, voluntary and non-binding nature;

ADOPT the Guidelines to Respond to the Request for Informal Engagements or Meetings by the ADMM-Plus Countries, which will serve as a further guidance for ASEAN Member States in engaging with Plus Countries;

ADOPT the Concept Paper on ASEAN Militaries Ready Group that serves as a complementary document in support of ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), and as a conceptual guidance and umbrella document for subsequent implementing instruments to provide for more coordinated and concerted quick deployment of the militaries in facilitating disaster relief, and task the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials' Meeting (ADSOM) to work out the operational details and modalities for its implementation;

ADOPT the concept paper on the establishment of the ASEAN Center of Military Medicine (ACMM) which establishes practical, effective, and sustainable cooperation among military medical services of member states, and task ADSOM to work out the operational details and modalities for its implementation;

ENDORSE the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Utilisation of Military Assets for HADR and subsequently transmit to the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) as a constructive input for Chapter VI of the SASOP in providing for a more systematic utilization of militaries' capacities in joint disaster relief operations;

ADHERE to the principles of the UN Charter and urge the no first use of force in dealing with disputes as a measure to prevent conflicts in the region and to promote security and stability;

CONTINUE enhancing practical cooperation in countering non-traditional and transnational and security concerns and developing coordinating mechanisms for military participation as outlined by the ADMM Three-Year Work Programme 2014 to 2016;

ENDEAVOUR towards streamlining and improving work processes of different security platforms for more economical and efficient outcomes;

STRENGTHEN the constructive ties between ASEAN Member States and between ASEAN Member States and the Plus countries to contribute to regional peace and security;

SUPPORT and enhance the activities of practical cooperation among the Member States under the ADMM initiatives;

DEEPEN practical cooperation through the six ADMM-Plus EWGs to strengthen the region's capacity and effectiveness in addressing common security challenges at pace comfortable to all Member States while maintaining ASEAN centrality;

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);

UNDERTAKE practical measures such as protocol of interaction and direct communication channels to reduce vulnerability to miscalculations and to avoid misunderstanding and undesirable incidents at sea;

COOPERATE in accordance with both domestic and international law including the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism to counter the imminent threat of terrorist / extremist organisations and radical groups through information sharing, increasing surveillance and promoting awareness among the public about the threat of radicalism;

WELCOME the Lao People's Democratic Republic's Chairmanship of ASEAN and its hosting of the 10th ADMM in 2016.

DONE in Langkawi, Malaysia, this Sixteenth of March in the Year Two Thousand and Fifteen, in a single original copy in the English Language.

For Brunei Darussalam:

PEHIN DATU SINGAMANTERI COLONEL (RTD) DATO SERI SETIA (DR) 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:

GENERAL (Ret.) RYAMIZARD RYACUDU Minister of Defence

For the Lao People's Democratic Republic:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL SENGNOUANE SAYALATH Minister of National Defense

For Malaysia:

DATO' SERI HISHAMMUDDIN TUN HUSSEIN Minister 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:

GENERAL PRAWIT WONGSUWON Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence

For the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:

GENERAL PHUNG QUANG THANH Minister of National Defence

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