Context: Defence Minister of India will participate in the 10th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
More about the news:
- Alongside the ADMM Plus meetings, Indian defence minister will engage in bilateral discussions with the defence ministers of participating nations to address defence cooperation and enhance mutually beneficial partnerships.
- ADMM Plus, involving ASEAN member-states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and eight dialogue partners.
- India initiated formal involvement with ASEAN in 1992, as a ‘Sectoral Dialogue Partner’ involving Secretary-level interactions. This engagement progressed, and by 1995, India attained the status of a ‘Dialogue Partner.’
About ADMM Plus:
- The ASEAN Security Community (ASC) Plan of Action, endorsed during the 10th ASEAN Summit, outlines the commitment to establish an annual ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM).
- In line with this, the inaugural ADMM took place in Kuala Lumpur in 2006, becoming the preeminent defence consultative and cooperative mechanism within ASEAN.
- The ADMM-Plus serves as a pivotal platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners-Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States (referred to collectively as the ‘Plus Countries’).
- This collaborative effort is aimed at strengthening security and defence cooperation to contribute to peace, stability, and development in the region.
- The inaugural ADMM-Plus convened in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010.
- Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus holds annual meetings, providing a forum for intensified dialogue and cooperation among ASEAN and the Plus Countries, particularly in the face of a progressively challenging regional security landscape.
Objectives:
- Foster the development of capabilities among ASEAN Member States to collectively address shared security challenges, recognizing the diverse capacities of each member.
- Promote mutual trust and confidence among defence establishments through increased dialogue and transparency, fostering a cooperative and open atmosphere.
- Collaborate in defence and security initiatives to enhance regional peace and stability, particularly in response to the transnational security challenges prevalent in the region.
- Contribute to the realization of an ASEAN Security Community, aligning with the principles outlined in the Bali Concord II.
- This includes striving for peace, stability, democracy, and prosperity within the region, with ASEAN Member States coexisting harmoniously with each other and the broader global community.
- Facilitate the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme, which outlines ASEAN’s commitment to building a peaceful, secure, and prosperous ASEAN.
- This involves adopting outward-looking external relations strategies with Dialogue Partners in line with shared objectives.
Achievements:
- ADMM Plus concentrates on seven key areas of practical collaboration, namely maritime security (MS), counter-terrorism (CT), humanitarian assistance and disaster management (HADR), peacekeeping operations (PKO), military medicine (MM), humanitarian mine action (HMA), and cyber security (CS).
- To facilitate cooperation in these domains, Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs) have been established.
- Operating on a three-year cycle, each EWG is co-chaired by one ASEAN Member State and one Plus Country.
Membership:
Principles for Membership, delineates the criteria for participating in the ADMM-Plus process as follows:
- The Plus country must hold the status of a full-fledged Dialogue Partner of ASEAN.
- The Plus country should have substantial interactions and relations with the defence establishment of ASEAN.
- The Plus country must demonstrate its ability to collaborate with the ADMM in building capacity, contributing significantly to regional security, and actively promoting capacity-building initiatives in the realms of defence and security within the region.
