ASEAN Defence Ministers to Meet in March 2015

    ASEAN Def. Ministers Meeting 2014 ( Singapore.mindef)

The 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting will be held in Langkawi, Malaysia from March 15-17, 2015. While this meeting is a highlight during Malaysia’s year as ASEAN chair, it is just one of a series of defence-related events planned for 2015 throughout the region.

The full calendar started in January with the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting Working Group, and will continue until the ADMM-Plus meeting in November.

 Meetings of Ministers, Senior Officials and Working Groups will take place throughout the year and in even in various parts of the world outside the geographical ASEAN region. Meetings will be held as far away as Japan, the U.S., Australia, China and Finland. 

A quick glance at the wide range of topics to be covered in this year’s meetings will give a clear picture of the challenges facing the region.

Topics include:

• Maritime security and counterrorism
• Disaster relief planning
• Cooperation on illegal drugs
• Counter-piracy and armed robbery in Asia
• Defense industry cooperation
• Wildlife trafficking in Asia
• Humanitarian mine action

The ADDM meeting has been held since 2006, and its objectives include promoting regional peace and security, to promote mutual trust and confidence through greater understanding of defense challenges. (ADDM website).

2015 ADDM Schedule:

https://admm.asean.org/index.php/events/current-calendar-year.html 

 ASEAN-Closer Military Ties in 2015, The Diplomat:

http://thediplomat.com/2015/02/asean-eyes-closer-military-ties-in-2015