Though the use of the phrase defence diplomacy was regarded as an oxymoron for a long time, this is no longer the case. Defence diplomacy has become an important tool of states’ foreign and security policy. This is a result of three important developments. First, the understanding of the nature of security challenges among states has evolved. No longer are states preoccupied in addressing the traditional (military) challenges, but also non-traditional ones (food, climate, environment, economics and a range of other examples). On top of the widened composition of national and international security agendas, states also have to incorporate the...

This chapter traces recent developments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defence establishments¹ that led to the launching of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus inaugural meeting in Hanoi on 12 October 2010. The Vietnamese Defence Minister, in his Chairman’s Statement, hailed the ADMM-Plus as “a significant milestone in ASEAN’s history” and a “key component of a robust, effective, open, and inclusive regional security architecture”.²

The ADMM is the newest Sectoral Ministerial Body for the 43-year-old ASEAN. Its inaugural meeting was convened in Kuala Lumpur on 9 May 2006. Its second meeting was convened in Singapore on 14...

In May 2006, the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) was launched in Kuala Lumpur. Four years later in May 2010, the “ADMM+8”—comprising the ASEAN members and eight of their dialogue partners (Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States)—was launched in Hanoi. These developments mark an intriguing departure of sorts from the way Asia Pacific states had hitherto regarded and engaged in regional inter-state defence and security cooperation. The ADMM has been described in one instance as “an important milestone for ASEAN”.¹ The ADMM+8—whose membership mirrors that of the East Asia Summit...

The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) has been part of the Southeast Asian security architecture since 1971. Superceding the Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement (AMDA) originally formed in 1957, the FPDA has involved Malaysia and Singapore as well as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In contrast to the AMDA and its commitment to the external defence of Malaysia and Singapore, the FPDA has been defined by a provision for consultation in the event of an external aggression against the two Southeast Asian states. The FPDA operates as a loose and subgroup structure focusing on a specific set of security issues...

Within a relatively short period of time, the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) has emerged as one of Asia’s most important and influential security dialogue processes. U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates is on record asserting that the SLD “has no peer in Asia”.¹ In a similar vein, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during his 2009 address to the gathering described the SLD as the “preeminent defence and security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region”.² Notwithstanding this meteoric rise, however, the longer-term viability of the SLD is quietly being called into question following the establishment of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus...

The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) was established in May 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was a significant and historic development in defence cooperation in ASEAN as, in the past, defence cooperation was a sensitive issue for the members to discuss.

At the initiative of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), an inaugural meeting of the Track 2 Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI) was held in Marina Mandarin Singapore from 22 to 23 August 2007 to discuss the relevance of this initiative to support the ADMM track. Representatives of the ASEAN think tanks and...

This chapter seeks to describe and assess key trends in defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Specifically, it seeks to highlight key issues and trends in multilateral defence diplomacy under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) since 1994. In addition, to complement the discussion, this chapter will also use the case of Indonesia’s bilateral defence diplomacy to highlight how bilateral defence relations among and between Southeast Asian states remain a crucial part of regional security architecture. By highlighting key trends in multilateral and bilateral defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia (at least...

Compared to the extensive political and economic ties between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 11 states of Southeast Asia, bilateral defence linkages are not nearly as well developed.¹ Several factors account for this situation. Since the end of the Cold War, China has been very cautious about pursuing closer defence cooperation with regional states, partly because it does not wish to appear to be siding with one country against another, and partly because familiarity allows foreign militaries to understand the limitations of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Southeast Asian countries have also exhibited caution. Close defence ties...

Nearly every major military power engages in some kind of “defence diplomacy”. While there is no universal definition of defence diplomacy, it is commonly accepted as activities involving a range of peacetime cooperation between militaries. Cottey and Forster define defence diplomacy as “the peacetime cooperative use of armed forces and related infrastructure (primarily defence ministries) as a tool of foreign and security policy”.¹ These policies may include the preservation of stability and security, both regionally and globally, the promotion of democracy, democratic values, and good governance, and the enhancement of international understanding and the subsequent reduction in political-military tensions and...