Establishing ASEAN Defence Interaction Programmes the Association

Establishing ASEAN Defence Interaction Programmes

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter was formally adopted by the leaders of the ten Member States on 20 November 2007. Although the general original idea of an ASEAN Charter was proposed by Malaysia in 2004, it was not until 2005 that the decision to formulate the Charter was formally adopted at the Eleventh ASEAN Summit. In order to successfully transform the ASEAN Member States into an ASEAN Community, though, a number of structural changes are needed in its institutional framework.

More specifically, the idea to propose the establishment of various Defence Interaction Programmes by the (ASEAN) ten Member States is based on the recognition that that most ASEAN Member States already have their own interaction programmes undertaken at bilateral level. Having noted that ASEAN Member States have established their own interaction programmes at bilateral level, it is therefore necessary to elevate these activities to the regional level. This is to ensure that all ASEAN Member States continue to benefit from the sharing of capacity from these interaction programmes and continue moving forward to achieve the stated aspiration of becoming, 'One Vision, One People, One Community.' Clearly, one way to help achieve this aspiration is to engage in cross-cultural activities that can help citizens of the ASEAN Member States better understand their counterparts in other Member States in ways that will promote the concept of 'One Community.'

The proposal to establish interaction programmes to promote these types of cross-cultural exchanges is drawn upon from the ASEAN Political Security Community (APSC) blueprint that envisaged APSC will ensure that the peoples and Member States of ASEAN live in peace with one another by means of closer interaction and cooperation to forge shared norms and create common mechanisms to achieve ASEAN's goals and objectives.

For the purpose of this concept paper, ADIP is defined as being those activities that are related and limited to social and sports interaction for the defence sectoral body.

II. Purpose and Objective

Purpose. The establishment of ADIP is to promote and enhance cooperation among defence and armed forces establishments within ASEAN Member States through interactive social and sport programmes undertaken at Senior, Junior and non-commissioned officers (NCOs).

Objectives. ADIP will have the following objectives:

a.

To utilize the existing and planned interaction programmes in ASEAN Members States for maintaining solidarity;

b.

To enjoy the benefits from the preparation of these activities by all ASEAN Member States;

c.

To conduct joint planning and training towards the preparations of the interactions programmes as well as sharing of experiences with a view to establishing an ASEAN arrangement for maintaining peace and stability; and d.

To promote regional peace and stability through greater collaboration and understanding on the basis of mutual respect.

III. Scope and Form of Activities

The ADIP initiative covers a broad spectrum of social and sport interaction activities, which may focus on areas involving, but not limited to, the following:

1. Sport activities such as golf, football, volleyball, table tennis and sepak takraw (a type of team kick volleyball that is popular throughout Southeast Asia);

2. Visits to defence and military facilities;

3. Visits to interesting places of cultural and social significance; and,

4. Cultural exchange performance by participants.

Arrangement

The ADIP will be arranged into three levels as follows:

1. ASEAN Senior Interaction Programme (ASEAN SIP);

2. ASEAN Junior Interaction Programme (ASEAN JIP); and,

3. ASEAN SNCO Interaction Programme (ASEAN SNCOs IP).

These interaction programmes are described further below.

1. ASEAN Senior Interaction Programme (ASEAN SIP). ASEAN SIP is designed for senior officers, preferrably with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and above. ASEAN Member States shall nominate three (3) officers as participants to this programme.

2. ASEAN Junior Interaction Programme (ASEAN JIP). ASEAN JIP is designed for junior officers preferrably from the rank of Lieutenant to Major. ASEAN Member States shall nominate five (5) officers as participants to this programme.

3. ASEAN NCOs Interaction Programme (ASEAN NCOs IP). ASEAN JIP is designed for SNCOs preferrably from the rank of Corporal to Warrant Officer. ASEAN Member States shall nominate seven (7) officers as participants to this programme.

Other arrangements include the following:

1. In order to ensure relevance in view of changing conditions, the interaction programmes should be reviewed periodically. Therefore, the ADIP initiatives will be held annually with a duration of 5 days.

2. Participation to this interaction programmes shall be voluntary.

3. A secretariat is tasked to plan, coordinate, implement, monitor and report (see below) the agreed interaction programmes under ADIP to ADMM, ADSOM and the ADSOM Working Group.

The arrangement for hosting can assume several alternatives, including the following:

1. Rotation based on the current ADMM Chair;

2. Hosting based on consensus; or,

3. Follow the same protocols established by the ADDM-Plus initiative wherein the Chair is rotated among the five ASEAN Member States which are currently regarded as being in a steady state for security purposes.

The first approach has the advantage of following protocols for Chair rotation based on mutually agreed upon criteria among the Member States. The penultimate approach has the advantage of the providing more timely responses to changes in the security environment. The final alternative has the distinct advantage of maximizing opportunities for collaboration concerning issues of mutual interest and keeping Member State delegates abreast of changes in the security environment and opportunities for new initiatives in current and additional Member States in the future.