Context:

Recently, the 11^th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Key highlights of the meeting

• India highlighted that it is time to adopt the Buddhist doctrines of peaceful co-existence as the world is increasingly getting polarised into blocks and camps.
• India committed to open communication and peaceful negotiation as an approach to a wide range of international challenges, from border disputes to trade agreements.
• India called for developing an ADMM-Plus Defence Strategy on Climate Change to deepen the understanding of the interlinkages between climate change and threats to security.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

It was established in 1967 after the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding members of ASEAN:  Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Current members of ASEAN (10): Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

• ASEAN has agreed in principle to accept Timor-Leste as its 11th member. 

ASEAN countries have a total population of 662 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.2 trillion as of 2022.

The ASEAN Secretariat is located in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The ASEAN Summit held biannually (twice in a year) is the highest policy-making body in ASEAN comprising the Heads of States or Government of ASEAN Member States. 

ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus)

• ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. 
• ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation. 
• India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010. 
• Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries.