Asean, partners’ defence chiefs warn of growing security threats
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon arrives to chair the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus on Monday. (AP photo)
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Top defence officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their eight dialogue partners that include the United States, China and Japan warned on Monday of growing and expanding security threats and challenges in the region.
In a joint statement issued after the one-day Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus in Bangkok, they said, “We recognise that security threats and challenges in the Asia-Pacific are trans-boundary and increasing in frequency and severity.”
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“Increasing regional integration and connectivity, as well as technological advancement, impact non-traditional security threats and increase their complexity and unpredictability,” they added.
As such, they called on “countries in the region to forge practical cooperation to find sustainable ways to prevent and address these common security threats.”
In separate remarks, Defence Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said several countries voiced concern about the conflicts between major powers, as well as such regional challenges as terrorism and nuclear threats, which he said are increasing.
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The South China Sea disputes between China and some Asean member countries were also widely discussed at the three-hour meeting and there was consensus on the need to work closely in addressing the issues, Lt Gen Kongcheep said.
One delegate told Kyodo News that with regard to the South China Sea, China said it “believes in defense diplomacy,” not war.
The US, for its part, reiterated the position it raised against China when it met with Asean on Sunday, even as it expressed its “100 percent commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
On Monday, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe held a bilateral meeting where the latter urged the United States to stop flexing its muscles in the South China Sea, and not to provoke and escalate tensions, according to a Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman.
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In the joint statement, the ministers reaffirmed their “commitment to maintaining peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region by working closely together to address common security challenges.”
“We recognise that adherence to international law encourages safe and professional military interactions, prevents armed conflict, and provides, in treaties and conventions, mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes,” it said.
South Korea, India, Russia, Australia and New Zealand are the bloc’s eight dialogue partners./
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