NEW DELHI: India and Malaysia, co-chairs of ASEAN’s Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism (CT), conveyed a work plan for group activities for the 2024-2027 cycle. The 14th meeting of ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) on March 19-20 marked the first set of activities.
The Ministry of Defence said the meeting “announced the conduct of Table-Top Exercise for EWG on CT in Malaysia in 2026 and Field Training Exercise in India in 2027”.
It said the meeting aimed to share the on-ground experience of the Defence Forces of ASEAN countries and its dialogue partners and laid a foundation for the activities/exercises/meetings/ workshops planned for the current cycle.
Earlier, Myanmar and Russia, co-chairs for EWG on CT during the previous cycle for 2021-2024, handed over the co-chairmanship to India and Malaysia for the present cycle (2024-2027). India is hosting the maiden EWG meeting for the current cycle.
The ministry said, “The meeting aims to provide a platform for ASEAN defence forces and dialogue partners to share their on-ground experiences. It will also establish the foundation for future activities, exercises, seminars, and workshops planned for the three-year cycle.”
Delegations from the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN countries (Lao PDR, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam), and ADMM-Plus member states (China, USA, Russia, Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) participated in the meeting.
Delivering the keynote address during the inaugural session, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh “stated that terrorism remains a dynamic and evolving challenge with threats increasingly transcending borders.”
He highlighted India’s efforts towards countering terrorism in the region, including adopting the Delhi Declaration during India’s chairmanship of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UNSC in 2022.
The Delhi Declaration is a landmark document adopted when India hosted a Special Meeting of the CTC in Mumbai and Delhi in October 2022. It deals with countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.
The Heads of Delegations of participating countries and the ASEAN Secretariat also presented their views on adopting best practices for countering terrorism in the region. The delegates also visited Agra as part of the cultural tour.
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