Southeast Asian defence ministers on Friday (Oct 19) agreed to a set of guidelines to manage unexpected aerial encounters between their military aircraft, and a deal to exchange information on terrorism and extremism. The defence chiefs were gathered at the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.
The ministers also strengthened regional counter-terrorism cooperation and established a network against chemical, biological and radiological threats. Also, aimed at managing unexpected encounters between military aircraft especially over contested areas like the South China Sea.
At the signing of a joint declaration, Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the Guidelines on Air Military Encounters will help “reduce the risk of miscalculations and de-escalate tensions during unplanned encounters among our militaries”.
These air guidelines follow the adoption of a similar set of naval protocols, called the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, at last year's ADMM-Plus, which was adopted by ASEAN countries alongside Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia Federation and the US.
The adoption of the multilateral air guidelines is a “significant achievement which demonstrates our leadership to enhance peace and security in our region”, Dr Ng added, noting that he will bring up these guidelines during the ADMM-Plus meeting on Saturday.
It remains to be seen how effective the non-binding and voluntary air guidelines will be. Even with the naval code, US and China warships were recently involved in a near-miss encounter in the South China Sea.
But without the guidelines, Dr Ng said there would be an increased "risk of mishaps".
"Without them, does one expect the encounters would get worse? I think the answer is yes," he said during a joint press conference after the signing. "In a way, they’re like seat belts, not completely protective but at least they provide some protection."
Dr Ng noted the significance of the agreement "because the encounters (in the air) are, in terms of time and space, much more compressed compared to sea".
At the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in August, ASEAN and China also agreed on a single draft document that will form the basis of negotiations for a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Source: channelnewsasia.com, devdiscourse.com