Defense Minister of India participates in the 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Defence Minister of India participated in the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus in Siem Reap, Cambodia. India called for urgent and resolute global efforts to counter transnational and cross-border terrorism, terming it as the gravest threat to regional and global security.

India brought to the forum’s attention other security concerns arising out of the global Covid-19 pandemic, such as Energy and Food Security . India advocates a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and calls for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.It was also stated that the ongoing ASEAN-China negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea should be fully consistent with international law, in particular United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of nations that are not party to these discussions.

ADMM-Plus

• The 2nd ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in 2007 at Singapore adopted a resolution to establish the ADMM-Plus.
• The first ADMM-Plus was convened at Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010.
• Brunei is the Chair of the ADMM Plus forum for the year 2021.
• It is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN countries and eight dialogue partner countries.
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organization which was established to promote political and social stability amid rising tensions among the Asia-Pacific’s post-colonial states.

Membership

• The ADMM-Plus countries include ten ASEAN Member States (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia) and eight Plus countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States.

Aim

• It aims to promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments through greater dialogue and transparency.

Areas of cooperation

• Maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations and military medicine.