LUANG PRABANG, LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, Friday, 4 November 2022 – Yang Mulia Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Mohammad Sharif bin Dato Paduka Haji Ibrahim, Commander of Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF) attended the 19th ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference (AACC) from 3rd to 5th November 2022 hosted by the Air Force Command, Lao People’s Army in the city of Luang Prabang. Accompanying the RBAirF Commander were the Staff Officer Grade 2 for Intelligence and Security and Staff Officer Grade 3 of the RBAirF Commander’s Secretariat Office.
The RBAirF Commander started off the event with bilateral meetings with all the ASEAN Air Chiefs and representatives who attended the conference. During the meetings, the RBAirF Commander reiterated the importance of maintaining bilateral relations and exploring more opportunities for engagement such as exchange programs, air working groups and subject matter expert exchanges for the purposes of building confidence and mutual trust between ASEAN Air Forces.
With the theme ‘Together for the Peace and Stability of ASEAN’, the AACC started with opening remarks and adoption of agenda presided by the host and chairman, Brigadier General Khamlek Sengpachan, the Chief of Air Force Command, Lao People’s Army. The highlight of the event was the exchange of remarks by the ASEAN Air Chiefs including from the RBAirF Commander.
In his remarks, the RBAirF Commander highlighted on the importance of resuming engagements and interactions that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and iterated the importance of ASEAN centrality and unity in the face of multiple traditional and non-traditional security threats. In response to these challenges, it was noted that the ASEAN Air Forces have embarked on capability development, but it was also critical that these projects are carried out for the sake of regional stability and issues such as unwanted air encounters and operational safety were considered. The conference then concluded with Laos Air Chief transferring the ASEAN Air Chief Conference Chairmanship to General Htun Aung, the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Air Force for the 20th AACC 2023 in Myanmar.
The ASEAN Air Chiefs were also given the opportunity to conduct a group courtesy call to His Excellency General Chansamone Chanyalath, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, where during the call, His Excellency emphasised on the pertinent role played by the regional air forces and the importance of maintaining regional stability.
PEMERINTAH TUDB MENGHADIRI PERSIDANGAN ASEAN AIR CHIEFS KALI KE-19
LUANG PRABANG, REPUBLIK DEMOKRATIK RAKYAT LAO, Juma’at, 04 November 2022 – Yang Mulia Brigedier Jeneral (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Mohammad Sharif bin Dato Paduka Haji Ibrahim, Pemerintah Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei (TUDB) telah menghadiri Persidangan
ASEAN Air Chiefs (AACC) kali ke-19 dari 3 hingga 5 November 2022 yang dihoskan oleh
Air Force Command,
Lao People’s Army di Luang Prabang. Turut bersama menghadiri persidangan tersebut ialah Timbalan Pegawai Turus Perisikan dan Sekuriti dan Penolong Pegawai Turus, Pejabat Urusetia Pemerintah TUDB.
Pemerintah TUDB memulakan acara tersebut dengan membuat perjumpaan dua hala bersama kesemua Pemerintah serta perwakilan tentera-tentera udara ASEAN yang menghadiri persidangan tersebut. Semasa perjumpaan tersebut, Pemerintah TUDB menekankan kepentingan mengekalkan hubungan dua hala serta meneroka lebih banyak peluang untuk berinteraksi seperti program pertukaran, kelompok kerja udara (KKU) dan pertukaran ahli pakar bagi membina kepercayaan dan keyakinan di antara tentera-tentera udara ASEAN.
Dengan bertemakan ‘Together for the Peace and Stability of ASEAN’, Persidangan AACC dimulakan dengan ucapan pembukaan serta penetapan agenda mesyuarat yang dipengerusikan oleh hos dan pengerusi persidangan, Brigedier Jeneral Khamlek Sengpachan, Pemerintah
Air Force Command,
Lao People’s Army. Kemuncak persidangan adalah ucapan dari kesemua Pemerintah serta wakil yang hadir termasuk Pemerintah TUDB.
Dalam ucapannya, beliau menekankan kepentingan meneruskan interaksi yang telah terjejas oleh pandemik COVID-19 dan menyatakan keutamaan perpaduan dan keteguhan ASEAN dalam menghadapi pelbagai ancaman tradisional dan bukan tradisional. Sebagai respon terhadap cabaran-cabaran tersebut, ianya telah diambil maklum bahawa tentera-tentera udara ASEAN telah membuat perkembangan keupayaan masing-masing, namun ianya turut kritikal bagi projek-projek tersebut dikendalikan demi kestabilan serantau dan isu-isu seperti
unwanted air encounters serta keselamatan operasi harus dipertimbangkan. Acara diakhiri dengan sesi serah terima Pengerusi AACC kepada Jeneral Htun Aung, Pemerintah Tentera Udara Myanmar yang akan menghoskan AACC kali ke-20 pada tahun hadapan.
Pemerintah-Pemerintah Tentera Udara ASEAN juga berkesempatan untuk mengadakan kunjungan hormat secara berkumpulan kepada Tuan Yang Terutama Jeneral Chansamone Chanyalath, Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Pertahanan Nasional. Semasa kunjungan tersebut, Tuan Yang Terutama menyatakan tentang peranan penting yang dimainkan oleh tentera-tentera udara serantau serta keperluan untuk mengekalkan kestabilan rantau ini.