The ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-Plus) has become an effective platform for practical cooperation among the participating countries’ defence establishments. This was proven in the year 2013 when Brunei successfully conducted the ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and Military Medicine (MM) Exercise from 17 to 20 June 2013 in which 3,400 personnel participated.

After a successful conclusion of ADMM-Plus HADR and MM Exercise, ADMM-Plus will be focusing on the maritime security and counter terrorism this year which will be co-hosted by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

The exercise will take place from 2 to 12 May 2016 and the exercise area will span from Brunei all the way to Singapore. This Exercise is a result from a culmination of long planning and preparation through Initial Planning Conference that was held from 4 to 6 February 2015, the Main Planning Conference held from 20 to 22 Oct 2015 and the Final Planning Conference which was held from 1 to 3 March 2016.

The participating ships will sail from Brunei and will conduct some exercises on the way to Singapore and conclude with some Counter Terrorism scenario in Singapore. Participating nations for this exercise will include the 10 ASEAN nations along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

Its objective is to elevate military practical cooperation from ASEAN level to ASEAN Plus level, and build upon militaries' experiences of previous exercises apart from enhancing military-to-military interoperability, coordination and cooperation amongst the participating countries.

The purpose of this exercise is to develop a more effective defence and military response towards maritime strategic challenge in the Asia-Pacific Region with the aim of enhancing maritime cooperation as well as enhance wider information sharing amongst the participating nations.

The ADMM-Plus MS & CT FTX will demonstrate the deployment of approximately 3,000 personnel, 18 ships, 17 helicopters, two maritime patrol aircraft as well as Special Forces from the 18 nations in order to response towards the scenario of maritime security and counter-terrorism.

Hopefully, this exercise will promote and accentuates the importance and relevance of the ADMM-Plus in the regional security structure. This has helped to build confidence, promote stable military-to-military relations in the region and enhance practical cooperation between militaries.