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.

Adblock test (Why?)