Countries must tackle security issues amid Covid-19

DEFENSE UNDERSECRETARY   Cardozo Luna said security issues should not be set aside amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.  

Luna made this statement at the 14th Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), 7th ADMM-Plus, and related meetings hosted by this year's chairman Vietnam. He represented DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in these virtual meetings held from Dec. 9 to 10.

"The USND (Undersecretary of National Defense) stated that despite the challenges caused by the pandemic, the ADMM-Plus should not lose track of other security issues, particularly the situation in the South China Sea and Korean Peninsula, cybersecurity, terrorism, and disasters," the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement Monday.

The ADMM-Plus is a platform for Asean and its eight dialogue partners -- Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States -- collectively referred to as the “Plus Countries”, to strengthen security and defense cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.

The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam in October 2010.

Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus meets annually, to allow enhanced dialogue and cooperation among Asean and the Plus Countries in the midst of an increasingly challenging regional security environment.

Luna also echoed the Chairman's Statement of the 37th Asean Summit which called for non-militarization and self-restraint in the South China Sea.

The highlights of the meetings included the signing of the 14th ADMM’s Joint Declaration as well as the Joint Declaration on Strategic Security Vision of the ADMM-Plus.

This marked the first time that a joint declaration was signed by the ADMM-Plus since 2013.

Luna also took part in the ADMM’s informal meetings with the defense ministers of the United States, China, and Japan, where he emphasized the importance of Asean centrality, particularly the Asean Outlook in the Indo-Pacific.

He also attended the virtual commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the ADMM-Plus and the engagement with the "guests of the chair", an activity held for the first time for Asean’s friends and dialogue partners beyond the members of the ADMM-Plus.

Luna also expressed support for Brunei Darussalam’s Asean chairmanship in 2021.

He also congratulated Vietnam for its successful chairmanship and reaffirmed the Philippines’ continuing support for the ADMM as the highest mechanism for defense dialogue and practical cooperation under the auspices of Asean.

He also maintained that the ADMM-Plus should remain as the main platform for regional defense engagement towards achieving an open and inclusive regional security architecture with Asean at the center.

The 14th ADMM adopted various documents such as the Concept Paper on Developing the Linkage between the ADMM and Asean Chiefs of Defense Forces Meeting (ACDFM), co-sponsored by the Philippines and Malaysia, which will promote synergy among defense and military meetings under Asean, enable the ACDFM to take stock of all Asean military meetings, and inform the ADMM of such initiatives.

Also adopted in the meeting was the Concept Paper on Enhancing Defense Attaché Posts Among Asean Member States, co-sponsored by the Philippines and Thailand, which will promote the role of defense attachés on multilateral defense cooperation under Asean. (By Priam Nepomuceno)