SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has joined his Asean counterparts in a fresh regional move to fight terrorism in the region and conduct a joint naval military drill with China.
In a joint declaration, Gen Prawit and nine other defence ministers agreed to forge closer cooperation within and outside the bloc to brace against serious adversities that threaten the Asean community, which is home to 600 million people.
General Joseph F Dunford, Jr, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrives at Government House to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Chanat Katanyu
The three-day meeting of the 2018 Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) ended yesterday.
Thai defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said Asean defence ministers attained "more substantial" efforts in forging cooperation to bolster security for the region that is challenged by fresh security issues.
Top issues discussed at the ADMM are terrorism, followed by possible maritime conflicts such as the South China Sea, and emerging threats regarding nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
The ministers agreed to form an intelligence sharing project, "Our Eyes Initiative", which is aimed to make use of exchanged information to cope with transnational terrorism.
The project is the initiative of Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu.
At this level, "Our Eyes Initiatives" will look at information sharing on terrorism in the Philippines, Brunai, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, according to Lt Gen Kongcheep.
Gen Prawit agreed with Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen to organise joint military drills of the three armed forces, Lt Gen Kongcheep said.
At the same time, the ADMM also supported the idea that the bloc should hold a military drill with China. Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan also attended the meeting.
The meeting agreed to conduct a detailed study of the exercise, scheduled this year, Lt Gen Kongcheep said.