ASEAN Defence Ministers Reiterate Stronger Defence Cooperation
ASEAN defence ministers reiterated the importance of ASEAN Centrality and ASEAN’s potential contributions to regional peace and prosperity during a meeting co-hosted by Singapore and the Philippines at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue.
Singapore’s defence minister Chan Chun Sing and the Philippines’ Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro Jr. jointly hosted their counterparts including Brunei’s Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (R) Haji Awang Halbi Haji Md Yussof, Cambodia’s Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence Lieutenant General Rath Dararoth, Indonesia’s vice defence minister Air Marshal (R) Donny Ermawan Taufanto, Malaysia’s defence minister Khaled Nordin, Thailand’s defence minister Lt Gen (R) Adul Boonthamcharoen and Vietnam’s deputy prime minister and defence minister General Phan Van Giang.
A Singapore defence ministry statement read, “The ministers also exchanged views on how militaries from ASEAN and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) countries can train and exercise together, particularly in response to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). This includes through ADMM-Plus exercises such as Exercise Trident Resolve that Indonesia will host in September 2026, and information-sharing through resources such as the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) Information Fusion Centre (IFC). The ministers agreed to redouble efforts to cooperate through the ADMM and the ADMM-Plus.”
Furthermore, they reaffirmed the importance of international law and norms in the region, particularly the right of transit passage under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and underscored their commitment to keep international airways and waterways open and safe for the free flow of trade and supplies, including the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:SG MINDEF)