Joint Statement by the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus on Youth, Peace and Security

The Thirteenth ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (hereinafter referred to as the “ADMM-Plus”) convened in Cebu, Philippines on 29 October 2026;

NOTING increasing threats to regional and international peace and stability, and that the youth account for many of those adversely affected by these threats;

FURTHER NOTING the variations of definition of the term “youth” that may exist on the national and international levels, and RECOGNISING the prerogative of ADMM-Plus Countries to define, in accordance with relevant national legislation, their age limit for participation in defence and security roles;

ACKNOWLEDGING that the youth, comprising a third of ASEAN’s combined population, are key stakeholders in shaping the immediate and long-term future of ASEAN;

RECALLING United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 2250 (2015), 2282 (2016), 2535 (2020), and 2558 (2020);

FURTHER RECALLING global and regional commitments by ASEAN Member States to advance the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda and the 2021 Joint Statement on Promoting the YPS Agenda at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF);

TAKING NOTE of the 2022 ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the Year of ASEAN Youth to Strengthen the Role of Youth in ASEAN Community Building which expresses the commitment to promote the role of the youth in regional and global peace, security and stability;

FURTHER TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 (ACV 2045) and its accompanying ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Strategic Plan which set out to empower the youth to enhance their capacity to contribute effectively in ASEAN Community-building efforts;

EMPHASISING the importance of a comprehensive approach to building and sustaining peace, and UNDERSCORING the youth’s effective and meaningful involvement in pursuing peaceful resolution of disputes and preventing armed conflict in accordance with international law, as a complementing aspect of the success of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts, and in shaping lasting peace and contributing to reconciliation;

NOTING the request of representatives of ASEAN youth organisations for all relevant sectoral bodies under all three (3) ASEAN Community Pillars and ASEAN Dialogue Partners to empower the youth in ASEAN in peace-building efforts;

COMMENDING the contributions of ASEAN Member States’ militaries in empowering junior officers to foster trust, bridge divides, and drive solutions to current and emerging security challenges through exchanges and interaction programmes, including the ASEAN Navy Young Officers Interaction (ANYOI), ASEAN Air Force Junior Officers Interaction Programme (AAFJOIP), and the Young ASEAN Military Medicine Officer (YAMMO) Scientific Programme under the ASEAN Chiefs of Military Medicine Conference (ACMMC); and

APPLAUDING ongoing efforts under the ADMM and ADMM-Plus in advancing the contributions of youth through existing initiatives, including the ASEAN Defence Interaction Programme (ADIP), ADMM-wide Education and Training Exchanges (AETE), and Future Leaders Programmes (FLPs) under the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs).

HEREBY COMMIT TO:

UNDERSCORE the role of the youth as important partners in contributing to mutual trust, strategic dialogue, and confidence in the pursuit of peace and security;

PROMOTE the effective and meaningful participation and engagement of the youth in advancing peacebuilding efforts and, from the perspective of departments and ministries of defence, pursuing peaceful resolution of disputes and preventing armed conflict in accordance with international law;

RECOMMEND the representation of the youth, where appropriate, in decision-making processes to enable consideration of their perspectives, in order to ensure that the needs of all segments of society are taken into account, while reaffirming the importance of national ownership and leadership in peacebuilding;

ENHANCE collaboration on peace and security by promoting, where appropriate, engagement of young people in the multidimensional aspects of maintaining peace in the region, within the auspices of the ADMM- Plus EWGs’ areas of cooperation;

BUILD the capacity and skills of young people in the defence sector to enable their effective and meaningful participation in peace and security efforts, including dialogue and other practical cooperation activities, through relevant processes and mechanisms under the ADMM-Plus, and collaborative cooperation among ADMM-Plus, and collaborative cooperation among ADMM-Plus Countries;

ALIGN ADMM-Plus initiatives with the needs and priorities of young people in regional peace and security, where appropriate; and

INCORPORATE, where appropriate, FLPs and other efforts to advance the contributions of youth to peace and security in the Work Plans of the ADMM-Plus EWGs from the 2027-2030 cycle onwards.

ADOPTED in Cebu, Philippines on the Twenty-Ninth Day of October in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six.

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