RECOGNIZING the geopolitical and geostrategic shifts in the region including the implications of deepening regional integration and inter-regional economic cooperation and connectivity as well as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which present both opportunities and challenges that requires avoiding the deepening of mistrust, miscalculation, and patterns of behavior based on a zero-sum game;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions are integrated and inter-connected with ASEAN at the center and STRESSING the importance of freedom, openness, inclusiveness and respect for international law;
REEMPHASIZING purposes and principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter as well as the fundamental principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, including peaceful settlement of disputes and renunciation of the threat or use of force as the key code of conduct in governing our relations and cooperation to promote regional peace and stability;
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Top defense officials from countries to sign the ADMM+ joint statement |
RECALLING the inauguration of the ADMM-Plus, an integral part of the ADMM, in Ha Noi, Vietnam on 12 October 2010 as a significant milestone in ASEAN’s history by creating a multilateral defense and security cooperation mechanism for trust and confidence-building, and for the Plus Countries to contribute to ASEAN Centrality as well as capacity-building in response to common security threats in the region;
REAFFIRMING the principles for friendly and mutually beneficial relations as set in the Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations;
UNDERSCORING the efforts to promote the cohesiveness and responsiveness of ASEAN in adapting to geopolitical and geostrategic shifts through strengthening defence cooperation among ASEAN Member States as well as with the Plus Countries;
RECOGNIZING the interest of ASEAN’s friends and Dialogue Partners to contribute to ASEAN’s efforts in promoting regional security and stability in line with the Principles in the Concept Paper on the ADMM-Plus;
COMMENDING the progress of the ADMM-Plus in the past ten years including the annualization of the ADMM-Plus and the expansion of the number of Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs) from five to seven;
COMMENDING AND RECOGNIZING the progress of practical cooperation under ADMM-Plus EWGs, namely Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Maritime Security, Military Medicine, Counter-Terrorism, Peacekeeping Operations, Humanitarian Mine Action and Cyber Security, which have contributed to building capacity and enhancing interoperability amongst ADMM-Plus countries, in order to address security challenges for the collective benefit of the region;
AFFIRMING that the ADMM-Plus has remained open and inclusive, where cooperation is based on mutual respect and in accordance with international law, while upholding ASEAN Centrality and guided by a spirit of fostering collective responsibility through the development of common understanding on security issues;
DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:
1. PROMOTE and STRENGTHEN cooperation and partnership through ADMM-Plus, as the de-facto multilateral mechanism for defense cooperation in the ASEAN-centred regional architecture to strengthen and give new momentum for existing ASEAN-led mechanisms to better face challenges arising from current and future regional environment based on international law for the peace, stability and development of the region;
2. WELCOME the positive contributions made by the Plus Countries to address existing and emerging challenges for the peace, stability and development of the region, while reaffirming the principles of ASEAN unity, solidarity and Centrality;
3. REAFFIRM the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight as well as the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self- restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, and pursue peaceful resolution of disputes, without coercion, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;
4. CONTINUE TO ENHANCE strategic dialogue and promote practical cooperation on regional defense and security issues among ASEAN Member States and the Plus Countries by implementing the ADMM Three-Year Work Programs and the ADMM-Plus EWGs Work Plans;
5. STRENGTHEN defense cooperation to tackle security challenges through the seven ADMM-Plus EWGs while upholding the principles of ASEAN Centrality, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, consensus-based decision making, flexible, voluntary, and non-binding contributions with assets remaining under national command and control;
6. RECOGNIZE that it is important for the ADMM-Plus to put in place practical confidence-building measures, by exercising the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, implementing the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, to ensure a peaceful environment conducive to sustainable development and prosperity in the region; and
7. WELCOME the convening of the 8th ADMM-Plus in Brunei Darussalam in 2021.
DONE on this Tenth Day of December in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty, in a single original copy in the English language.
Signed by defense ministers of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America