Kuala Lumpur: The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) continues to be a pivotal forum for discussing ASEAN centrality amid an ever-evolving global and regional landscape, according to Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohamed Khaled highlighted the importance of bolstering cooperation among ASEAN member states to maintain regional stability and unity, especially when addressing emerging defence concerns. He emphasized the necessity of exploring new areas of defence collaboration to ensure ASEAN’s resilience in tackling complex geopolitical threats, notably in the South China Sea.

“There is a need for more to ensure ASEAN not only is workable, but to enhance our cooperation, to address and to face the changing and dynamic situation that the world has left, and also our region is currently facing,” Mohamed Khaled stated during a press conference at the Parliament building. He stressed the exploration of new defence cooperation areas to ensure ASEAN remains robust.

Mohamed Khaled also underlined ASEAN centrality as vital for navigating regional security threats, particularly in the South China Sea. He remarked, “In order for us to be successful in facing whatever challenges, especially in ASEAN, especially in South China Sea, the question of ASEAN centrality is very important. That is the only way we feel that we will be able to face whatever challenges that is coming to this region and also rest of the world.” He praised ASEAN’s unique success in preventing conflicts among neighbours through established defence mechanisms.

The forthcoming ADMM is anticipated to concentrate on fortifying regional defence cooperation and reinforcing ASEAN’s strategic unity in addressing evolving security challenges.