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| Joint Declaration of the ASEAN Defence Ministers on Strengthening Asean Defence Cooperation for Stability and Development of the Region WE, the Defence Ministers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam, the Deputy Defence Minister of the Union of Myanmar and the Undersecretary for Finance and Armed Forces Modernisation Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, gathered here in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 11 May 2010 for the Fourth ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (hereinafter referred to as "ADMM"); RECALLING the inauguration of ADMM, on 9 May 2006, as one of the historic milestones in the development of ASEAN, which plays a crucial role in contributing towards building the ASEAN Political - Security Community by 2015; RECALLING also the signing of the Cha-Am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015, to adopt ASEAN Political - Security Community Blueprint; REITERATING that the ADMM is the highest ministerial defence and security consultative and cooperative mechanism for the discussion of regional security issues with a view to ensuring that the ASEAN Member States live in peace with one another and with the world at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment; NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that significant progress has been made over the past four years since the inauguration of ADMM, in building confidence, consolidating solidarity, strengthening regional resilience and enhancing the status of ASEAN on the international arena; EXPRESSING satisfaction with the results of the Seventh ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM), which was held on 25 March 2010 in Ha Noi with the theme of enhancing effectiveness of ASEAN military cooperation in dealing with non-traditional security challenges in the region; and commending the progress made by the ASEAN militaries in enhancing practical cooperation; RECOGNISING Southeast Asia as a region of stability and vibrant development while facing a set of common global security challenges, especially those of a non-traditional nature, where collective efforts are needed to meet those challenges; AFFIRMING the determination by ASEAN defence sectoral to cooperate and collaborate among ASEAN Member States as well as between ASEAN and its partners outside the region in response to emerging non-traditional security challenges; REAFFIRMING the importance of establishing the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (hereinafter referred to as "ADMM-Plus") as a robust, effective, open and inclusive component of the regional security architecture that would enable the ADMM to cooperate with the non-ASEAN countries to build capacity and better prepare ASEAN to address the complex security challenges; UPHOLDING the principle of ASEAN centrality, where ASEAN shall be the driving force in the ADMM's interaction and cooperation with the non-ASEAN countries in the ADMM-Plus; as well as ASEAN's principles of non-interference and respect for national sovereignty; RECALLING the positive outcomes of the ADMM Retreat in Bangkok on 3 November 2009 where the ASEAN Defence Ministers had reached a broad consensus on the configuration and composition of the ADMM-Plus; REAFFIRMING the direction of the 16th ASEAN Summit held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 9 April 2010, for the ADMM to ensure the early implementation of the ADMM-Plus; DO HEREBY DECLARE TO: 1. Adopt the Paper on ADMM-Plus: Configuration and Composition which puts forth the most appropriate configuration and composition of the ADMM-Plus; 2. Adopt the Paper on ADMM-Plus: Modalities and Procedures which sets out the modalities and procedures for operationalising the ADMM-Plus; 3. Uphold the decision of the 16th ASEAN Summit that the ADMM-Plus would be inaugurated with an ADMM+8 configuration and a composition of the ten ASEAN Member States and the eight Dialogue Partners of ASEAN, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States; 4. Welcome Viet Nam to host the inaugural ADMM-Plus in 2010; 5. Welcome Indonesia in its follow-up efforts to develop the Roadmap for the Use of ASEAN Military Assets and Capacities in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, including the establishment of Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) for HADR Cooperation, pursuant to the Concept Paper on the Use of ASEAN Military Assets and Capacities in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, which was adopted by the Third ADMM in February 2009; 6. Welcome Thailand in its follow-up efforts to explore and identify feasible approaches and mechanisms for enhancing the cooperation between ASEAN defence establishments and civil society organisations in the region, viewing this as another step towards the realisation of the Concept Paper on ASEAN Defence Establishments and Civil Society Organisations Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security, which was adopted at the Third ADMM in February 2009; 7. Welcome the idea initiated by Malaysia on forging cooperation in defence industry among ASEAN Member States, and noted the "ASEAN Defence Industry Dialogue: the Way Forward" as an initial step in exploring defence industry cooperation among ASEAN Member States; 8. Strengthen ASEAN defence cooperation through capacity building and mobilisation of resources for the preparedness in tackling natural disasters and other emergencies, which are increasingly complex, non-traditional and transnational in nature; and 9. Welcome Indonesia's chairmanship of ASEAN and its hosting of the Fifth ADMM in the year 2011. DONE in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on the Eleventh Day of May in the Year Two Thousand and Ten, in a single original copy in the English language. For Brunei Darussalam: DATO SERI PADUKA EUSSOFF AGAKI HAJI ISMAIL Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Office For the Kingdom of Cambodia: GENERAL TEA BANH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence For the Republic of Indonesia: PURNOMO YUSGIANTORO Minister of Defence For the Lao People's Democratic Republic: LIEUTENANT GENERAL DOUANGCHAY PHICHIT Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence For Malaysia: DATO' SRI DR AHMAD ZAHID HAMIDI Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence For the Union of Myanmar: U AYE MYINT Deputy Minister of Defence For the Republic of the Philippines: ANTONIO L. ROMERO II Undersecretary for Finance and Armed Forces Modernazation Affairs For the Republic of Singapore: TEO CHEE HEAN Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence For the Kingdom of Thailand: GENERAL PRAWIT WONGSUWON Minister of Defence For the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: GENERAL PHUNG QUANG THANH Minister of National Defence |
| QUOTE (diCam @ May 13 2010, 05:18 PM) |
| You guys seem to like picking on the press for mistakes. It could have been a case of "honest mistake". :lol: What's the take from our ex-journalist? Any comment? :rolleyes: |
| QUOTE (warspite @ May 13 2010, 06:30 PM) | ||
Maybe honest mistake, but still unacceptable, esp. since we have the AMX13/SM1s in service for more than 40 bloody years!!! This is not like some new piece of equipment that the non-mil guys in SPH is not familiar with, so really is inexcusable... |
| QUOTE (diCam @ May 13 2010, 05:18 PM) |
| You guys seem to like picking on the press for mistakes. It could have been a case of "honest mistake". :lol: What's the take from our ex-journalist? Any comment? :rolleyes: |
| QUOTE (diCam @ May 27 2010, 04:00 PM) |
| I've a question. Why is the Minister for Defence not looking into this issue? |
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http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/...ory_532360.html WE REFER to Mr Matthias Chew's letter yesterday ('Shooting incident: Mindef should have told public'). The Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) immediate priority following any incident is to attend to the needs of the affected servicemen and to keep their families informed. In the case of the training incident in Thailand, the servicemen were given immediate medical attention and arrangements were made for their safe return to Singapore on the same day for further medical treatment. The families of the servicemen were immediately notified and provided regular updates. Whatever information that is available is thus provided to the servicemen and their families as soon as possible. The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) informs the public whenever there is a serious incident, or where the incident is likely to be of public interest. Given the nature of this incident, Mindef should have issued a media statement when it occurred. Colonel Darius Lim, Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Defence (Mindef) |
| QUOTE (diCam @ May 28 2010, 01:57 PM) |
| Now I'm wondering... what would had happened if the late Dr GKS is still with MINDEF. Would he tolerate such PR standard? |
| QUOTE (edwin3060 @ May 28 2010, 08:37 PM) |
| This situation is pretty indefensible. While it is true that the first priority is to take care of the injured servicemen, there is no reason that we couldn't concurrently update Singaporeans about the status of their sons in training--unless there was a special request by the family, and that doesn't seem to be the case here. |
| QUOTE (xtemujin @ May 28 2010, 08:41 PM) | ||
| I concur, most of us want to know why did the NSF who was also shot was not in the news. Most importantly, will steps be taken to rectify this oversight for the future or will it just be another honest mistake.
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| SAF co-hosts multinational communications exercise Posted: 30 Aug 2010, 1800 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours) Report by Lee Keh Yi Photos courtesy of USPACOM and JCISD Singapore co-hosted a multinational communications interoperability exercise, codenamed Pacific Endeavour, together with the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), from 16 to 27 Aug. The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) had taken part in the annual exercise since 2005 but this was the first time it was held at the Multinational Operations and Exercises Centre in the Republic of Singapore Navy's Changi Command and Control Centre. The aim of the exercise was to enhance interoperability between participating nations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the international humanitarian community in order to enable greater collaboration on communication systems for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Brigadier-General (BG) Lee Shiang Long, Head Joint Communications and Information Systems (JCIS) and advisor to the exercise organising committee, noted that other than establishing a communications interoperability platform through information-sharing, an important element of the exercise was the fostering of personal ties between the participants. "One of the key elements in any operation is the people. During the exercise, I got to know BG Brett Williams (Director for Communications System, USPACOM), as well as my counterparts in many countries, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand. The relationships built here will be very useful for future operations," BG Lee said. These sentiments were echoed by the exercise participants themselves. Sergeant Lizana Muir from the New Zealand Air Force said: "It has been a good experience learning about how different nations work." The exercise highlight was a disaster scenario which simulated an earthquake in Manila, Philippines. Participants were grouped by experience into cells which looked into various areas of the communication response to the scenario, including spectrum management, current and future operations, networks and information assurance. For Chief Warrant Officer 3 Arthur Deleon from the US Marines, the most important part was "developing the relationships so that we know who the points of contract are and are able to utilise them in a time of need." This year's exercise saw more than 250 communications experts from the armed forces of 16 Asia-Pacific nations, NGOs, the international humanitarian community and private industry taking part in a series of training workshops, discussions and communication network tests. Outside of the exercise, the participants enjoyed the hospitality that Singapore can offer. Staff Sergeant Aaron White of the US Marines said: "We had some great food this last weekend - your chilli crab was special! It has been great just trying the food here and seeing the sights." |
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| Pacific Endeavor Aims to Improve Response Time during National Disasters By Lieutenant Theresa Donnelly Pacific Command Public Affairs CHANGI NAVAL BASE, Singapore - Saving lives using agreed upon communication procedures was the goal during Pacific Endeavor, a multi-nation humanitarian workshop hosted by U.S. Pacific Command and the Singapore Armed Forces at Changi Command and Control Center in Changi Village, Singapore Aug. 16-27. Many non-governmental organizations may have limited resources and logistical challenges to overcome when responding to a disaster. This is why a rapid installation of a communication network to coordinate relief efforts is critical to saving lives. The workshop brought together militaries from 16 Asia-Pacific nations and for the first time since the program’s inception, members of the humanitarian community and business leaders from private industry also took part. Salvation Army Lt. Col. Dan Starrett spoke of the importance of non-governmental partnerships with the military. “We are always looking for ways we can be better partners with the military. The tremendous resources the military has in moving equipment and supplies is of particular interest to us and helps us respond to the needs of people more quickly,” he said. During the two-week event, participants tested several communication networks in a disaster scenario, which simulated an earthquake in metro Manila. “We [Armed Forces of the Philippines] already did a similar test with Exercise Balikatan earlier this year, but communication infrastructure was just a small part. But now during Pacific Endeavor, we can get into the gritty details and exercise the nuts and bolts of the communications part,” said Philippines Navy Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Jason Bartolome, a senior communicator and one of five military representatives from the Philippines attending the workshop. Established in 2003 under PACOM’s Multinational Communications Interoperability Program (MCIP), the program mirrors similar humanitarian communication workshops taking place at European and Africa Command. Attendees have found that by working together before a crisis, they can dramatically cut down on miscommunication and misunderstanding, which can have devastating effects during a natural disaster. The program is structured so that each participating nation plays a key role in the decision making process of how the workshop is planned. A corporate board consisting of representatives from each nation’s military spends months leading up to the workshop designing objectives. After the objectives are agreed upon, they are then placed into the scenario and assessed so each year, they can examine the challenge and opportunities each nation faces when communicating during a natural disaster. “This is the first year we have involved internet security awareness training, so we spent time developing an agreed-upon information assurance plan,” said U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron White. “This extremely important during a humanitarian crisis because there might be private information that must be protected, such as medical information or someone’s social security number,” he explained. Many of the best practices harnessed during Pacific Endeavor are already being utilized when responding to natural disasters. One such training is the use of social networking tools to quickly share information among several government agencies and non-governmental organizations. “Using web 2.0 technology during the recent Haiti crisis, we were able to save lives by rapidly disseminating information between the non-governmental organizations and military communities,” said John Holloway, liaison officer for PACOM and Sea Services. Holloway works for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense and tracks how the U.S. military shares information during a humanitarian crisis. “This was a groundbreaking innovation in the way the U.S. military shares information among humanitarian agencies and the United Nations. Having this workshop compliments efforts already established and paves the way to further relationship building for increased coordination, which can ultimately saves lives in a natural disaster,” said Holloway. |
| QUOTE (Grunt @ Sep 2 2010, 07:03 PM) | ||||
A minor mistake in reporting Pacific Endeavour by CBPioneer.
The above Mindef article failed to mention that officers from the Philippines took part, when the scenario was an earthquake in Manila, Philippines. When cutting and pasting, staff at PAFF at least look out for missing info that could have protocol implications. How can we practice how to help Philippines, without participation from their military? A bit rude, right? Below is the news release from PACOM.
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| QUOTE (Grunt @ Sep 3 2010, 11:33 PM) |
| The way they did it makes BG Lee look bad. And the role of PAFF, as media professionals, is to make the SAF look good. Now if the PAFF make a BG look bad, they are not doing a good job lah! And this is not even external reporting. It's their own release. This is their staff work level... sigh... I'm really not expecting them to change. |
