Joint declaration of the ASEAN Defence Ministers at ADMM-4

JOINT DECLARATION OF THE ASEAN DEFENCE MINISTERS

ON STRENGTHENING ASEAN DEFENCE COOPERATION FOR STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION

WE, the Defence Ministers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam, the Deputy Defence Minister of the Union of Myanmar and the Undersecretary for Finance and Armed Forces Modernisation Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, gathered here in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 11 May 2010 for the Fourth ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (hereinafter referred to as “ADMM”);

General Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnamese Minister of National Defence (standing, left) hands over the signed declaration to ASEAN Vice General Secretary. Photo: Ngoc Hung

RECALLING the inauguration of ADMM, on 9 May 2006, as one of the historic milestones in the development of ASEAN, which plays a crucial role in contributing towards building the ASEAN Political - Security Community by 2015;

RECALLING also the signing of the Cha-Am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015, to adopt ASEAN Political - Security Community Blueprint;

REITERATING that the ADMM is the highest ministerial defence and security consultative and cooperative mechanism for the discussion of regional security issues with a view to ensuring that the ASEAN Member States live in peace with one another and with the world at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that significant progress has been made over the past four years since the inauguration of ADMM, in building confidence, consolidating solidarity, strengthening regional resilience and enhancing the status of ASEAN on the international arena;

EXPRESSING satisfaction with the results of the Seventh ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM), which was held on 25 March 2010 in Ha Noi with the theme of enhancing effectiveness of ASEAN military cooperation in dealing with non-traditional security challenges in the region; and commending the progress made by the ASEAN militaries in enhancing practical cooperation;

Delegates to ADMM-4 visit Vietnam Helicopter Corporation's stall at Division 308. Photo: Ngoc Hung

AFFIRMING the determination by ASEAN defence sectoral to cooperate and collaborate among ASEAN Member States as well as between ASEAN and its partners outside the region in response to emerging non-traditional security challenges;

REAFFIRMING the importance of establishing the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (hereinafter referred to as “ADMM-Plus”) as a robust, effective, open and inclusive component of the regional security architecture that would enable the ADMM to cooperate with the non-ASEAN countries to build capacity and better prepare ASEAN to address the complex security challenges;

UPHOLDING the principle of ASEAN centrality, where ASEAN shall be the driving force in the ADMM’s interaction and cooperation with the non-ASEAN countries in the ADMM-Plus; as well as ASEAN’s principles of non-interference and respect for national sovereignty;

RECALLING the positive outcomes of the ADMM Retreat in Bangkok on 3 November 2009 where the ASEAN Defence Ministers had reached a broad consensus on the configuration and composition of the ADMM-Plus;

REAFFIRMING the direction of the 16^th ASEAN Summit held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 9 April 2010, for the ADMM to ensure the early implementation of the ADMM-Plus;

DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:

1. Adopt the Paper on ADMM-Plus: Configuration and Composition which puts forth the most appropriate configuration and composition of the ADMM-Plus;

2. Adopt the Paper on ADMM-Plus: Modalities and Procedures which sets out the modalities and procedures for operationalising the ADMM-Plus;

3. Uphold the decision of the 16^th ASEAN Summit that the ADMM-Plus would be inaugurated with an ADMM+8 configuration and a composition of the ten ASEAN Member States and the eight Dialogue Partners of ASEAN, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States;

4. Welcome Viet Nam to host the inaugural ADMM-Plus in 2010;

5. Welcome Indonesia in its follow-up efforts to develop the Roadmap for the Use of ASEAN Military Assets and Capacities in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, including the establishment of Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) for HADR Cooperation, pursuant to the Concept Paper on the Use of ASEAN Military Assets and Capacities in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, which was adopted by the Third ADMM in February 2009;

6. Welcome Thailand in its follow-up efforts to explore and identify feasible approaches and mechanisms for enhancing the cooperation between ASEAN defence establishments and civil society organisations in the region, viewing this as another step towards the realisation of the Concept Paper on ASEAN Defence Establishments and Civil Society Organisations Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security, which was adopted at the Third ADMM in February 2009;

7. Welcome the idea initiated by Malaysia on forging cooperation in defence industry among ASEAN Member States, and noted the “ASEAN Defence Industry Dialogue: the Way Forward” as an initial step in exploring defence industry cooperation among ASEAN Member States;

8. Strengthen ASEAN defence cooperation through capacity building and mobilisation of resources for the preparedness in tackling natural disasters and other emergencies, which are increasingly complex, non-traditional and transnational in nature; and

9. Welcome Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN and its hosting of the Fifth ADMM in the year 2011.

DONE in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on the Eleventh Day of May in the Year Two Thousand and Ten, in a single original copy in the English language.