Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman
Minister of Defence

26 August 2013

Minister participates in key regional Defence Ministers’ meeting

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman is joining his counterparts at the second ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Brunei, a key security forum bringing together the ten ASEAN nations and regional partners.

“New Zealand has an important stake in the security of the Asia-Pacific region. The ADMM-Plus provides a key opportunity to develop practical cooperation and strengthen relationships within the region,” says Dr Coleman.

“New Zealand currently co-chairs the Experts’ Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and we expect to transition to co-chairing the working group on maritime security from April 2014. These working groups are an important mechanism to deliver cooperation at a practical level.

“A secure maritime environment is vital to economic prosperity and regional security in the Asia-Pacific region. It is important countries work together to address the challenges to maritime security such as piracy, drugs smuggling, people smuggling and illegal fishing.”

Dr Coleman will hold a number of bilateral meetings with counterparts from a range of countries. New Zealand and Japan expect to sign a Memorandum of Intent to formalise bilateral defence engagements and cooperation in multilateral settings.

“New Zealand values our defence relationship with Japan. The Memorandum of Intent will promote greater understanding between the NZ Defence Force and the Japanese Self Defence Force in areas of mutual interest,” says Dr Coleman.

The ADMM-Plus takes place in Brunei from 28-29th August 2013 and involves Defence Ministers from ASEAN, Australia, Peoples Republic of China, Republic of India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the United States. The inaugural ADMM+8 was held in Vietnam in 2010.

Following ADMM-Plus, Dr Coleman will travel to Singapore to conduct bilateral meetings.

ENDS

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