COMMON GOALS, PRINCIPLES NEEDED TO TACKLE REGIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES: DR NG

Member countries of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and its partners must work towards common goals for regional peace and security.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen said this at the 4th Putrajaya Forum, themed "Regional Cooperation in Addressing Security Challenges", in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 18 Apr.

He was speaking at the forum's plenary session on the topic, "Major Power Influence and Regional Security Architecture", alongside Turkish Deputy Minister of National Defence Suay Alpay.

Dr Ng said the ADMM and its partners "need to enhance regional peace and stability through dialogue and practical cooperation", and "come together to create and abide by a common set of mechanisms, protocols and norms that guide behaviour in the region".

He outlined three key guiding principles which laid the foundation for an overall framework where all ASEAN members would be clear on how they could contribute to the group.

The first principle was that the ADMM should respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each ASEAN member state, even in the ongoing effort to build the ASEAN community. Dr Ng noted that this would include deployment of the militaries of ASEAN members and that while ASEAN members cooperated in partnerships, they should not compromise the sovereignty of nations, such as overriding the authority of a member state in the deployment of its security forces.

The second principle, he said, was to cooperate on a "voluntary, non-binding and flexible basis". He acknowledged that there might be circumstances where all ASEAN members could reach an agreement when interests of individual countries were aligned, but in instances where there are differences, "this provision allows members to observe their individual rights and obligations".

The third principle was for ASEAN members to "maintain an open and inclusive regional security architecture with ASEAN at the centre". Members must be willing to work with partners from around the world who have a stake in regional security, as ASEAN members alone would not be able to tackle all the security challenges.

Dr Ng noted that the ADMM had made good progress in the security arena since its inauguration 10 years ago. He said: "The ADMM has embarked on cooperation to build confidence and capabilities in areas such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), maritime security, peacekeeping, and crisis management."

Comparing the progress of ADMM with other established regional security groups such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), he said ASEAN countries had much to learn from the strengths and weaknesses of these other groups to continue strengthening defence ties among its members.

Citing the OSCE as an appropriate example of a regional security group with guiding principles for its individual members to adhere to, Dr Ng mentioned that the OSCE was set up "during the Cold War with the objective of improving relations between the Soviet bloc and the West," and three of its 10 guiding principles include "respect for sovereign equality of its members, refraining from threat or use of force and peaceful settlement of disputes".

The Putrajaya Forum is a biennial defence and security conference organised by the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security, which brings together defence ministers, officials and academics to discuss defence and security issues.

This year's forum was held in conjunction with the 15th Defence Services Asia Exhibition and Conference.

While in Putrajaya, Dr Ng called on Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi, and Minister of Defence Dato' Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein. He also met Timor-Leste's Minister of Defence and Security Cirilo Jose Cristov o.