MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday 10 February 2015 – The 12th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) was held where ACDFIM leaders and representatives had interactive discussions on various issues enveloping multilateralism. Brunei Darussalam was represented by the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah.
In line with the theme “Maintaining Regional Security and Stability for and by the People”, the ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces and representatives adopted the Joint Statement where they agreed to adopt the mechanism of a formalised meeting as well as to bring up the proposal of engagements with their extra-regional militaries counterparts to the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) for consultation.
They also agreed to enhance their cooperation through confidence-building measures, information sharing, intelligence cooperation and capacity-building activities such as meetings, workshops and exercises, which took shape in the ASEAN Militaries Two Year Activity Work Plan (2015-2017). Under this Work Plan, which serves a valuable indicator of cooperation, Brunei Darussalam will host the 3rd ASEAN Military Analyst-to-Analyst Intelligence Exchange (AMAAIE) in May 2015. The hosting of the 12th ACDFIM comes at a pivotal time with the realisation of the ASEAN Community this year.
At the sidelines of the ACDFIM, the ASEAN Chiefs’ of Defence Forces had a joint courtesy call with His Excellency Dato Sri’ Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia. During the call, the Prime Minister congratulated the Chiefs and their representatives for the successful conduct of the meeting and further expressed his utmost satisfaction on the positive outcomes. The Commander of RBAF also held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts and their representatives.
Preceding the ACDFIM, the 12th ASEAN Military Intelligence Informal Meeting (AMIIM) and 5th ASEAN Military Operations Informal Meeting (AMOIM) were held on 8 February 2014. Brunei Darussalam was represented by the Joint Force Commander for AMOIM and the Director of Intelligence for AMIIM.
Under the platform of AMOIM, ASEAN Heads of Military Operations continued to pursue the voluntary Two-Year Activity Work Plan of 2015-17 as agreed upon as a guideline for multilateral activities of ASEAN militaries. The AMIIM, on the other hand continued its progress in furthering the potentials of an ASEAN-centric network promoting intelligence exchange and interactions between the ASEAN militaries intelligence community.
Over the years, the ACDFIM and its subordinate meetings have become an important part of the regional security architecture serving as invaluable platforms for confidence building, capacity building and fostering practical cooperation among ASEAN militaries.
