Joint Declaration of the 18th ASEAN Chiefs of Army Multilateral Meeting on Building Cooperation Against Transnational Threats in Singapore

WE, the Chiefs of Army of Brunei Darussalam, 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, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, gathered here in the Republic of Singapore on 21 Nov 2017 for the 18th ASEAN Chiefs of Army Multilateral Meeting (ACAMM);

VIEWING ACAMM as the highest army-to-army military interaction platform in the ASEAN region, established to foster stronger relations among the armies of the ASEAN member states;

REAFFIRMING the shared commitment and collective responsibility in maintaining and enhancing regional peace, security and stability, thereby leading towards a united ASEAN Community;

STRIVING to ensure the security of the ASEAN Community and the unity among the armies of the member states;

DISCUSSING the theme "Building Cooperation against Transnational Threats" which will facilitate the enhancement of unity among the armies of the member states;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT all the outcomes and recommendations made by the 2017 ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Force Informal Meeting (ACDFIM), and related ASEAN military meetings;

RECOGNISING the need to effectively and swiftly respond to current and future traditional and non-traditional threats, to ensure that peace, security and stability prevail throughout the region without interfering with one's sovereignty;

ENCOURAGED by the significant achievements of the ACAMM in the previous years in strengthening the unity among the armies of the ASEAN member states;

CONFIDENT of the ability of the armies of the ASEAN member states to freely discuss and achieve consensus over diverse issues, in line with the ASEAN culture -- the ASEAN Way;

ACKNOWLEDGING that the armies of the ASEAN member states have actively participated and contributed in the 27th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet 2017 in Singapore;

AGREEING to further implement the agreement adopted in this Joint Declaration of the 18th ACAMM without intervening and disrupting any existing bilateral and multilateral cooperation;

DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:

A.    Continue to promote exchanges and visit programmes in order to enhance our unity and capacities.

B.    Ensure the implementation of all projects, initiatives, and activities agreed upon by ACAMM through the ACAMM Working Group.

C.    Introduce an information-sharing workshop at the staff-level to enhance mutual learning and explore opportunities for practical cooperation.

DONE in the Republic of Singapore, on the twenty-first of November in the Year Two Thousand and Seventeen.

For the Brunei Land Forces:

BRIGADIER-GENERAL PENGIRAN DATO SERI PAHLAWAN AMINAN BIN PENGIRAN HAJI MAHMUD
Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Forces

For the Royal Cambodian Army:

GENERAL MEAS SOPHEA
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and
Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army

For the Indonesian Army:

GENERAL MULYONO
Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army

For the Lao People's Army:

MAJOR-GENERAL KHAMLIENG OUTHAKAISONE
Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Lao People's Army

For the Malaysian Army:

GENERAL TAN SRI DATO' SRI ZULKIPLE BIN HAJI KASSIM
Chief of Army of the Malaysian Armed Forces

For the Myanmar Army:

VICE-SENIOR GENERAL SOE WIN
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services and
Commander-in-Chief (Army) of the Myanmar Armed Forces

For the Philippine Army:

MAJOR-GENERAL ROLANDO JOSELITO DELIZO BAUTISTA
Commanding General of the Philippine Army

For the Singapore Army:

MAJOR-GENERAL MELVYN ONG SU KIAT
Chief of Army of the Singapore Armed Forces

For the Royal Thai Army:

GENERAL CHALERMCHAI SITTHISAD
Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army

For the Vietnam People's Army:

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL PHAM HONG HUONG
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army