The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministers' meeting (ADMM) held in Malaysia closed with a joint declaration calling for regional unity.
According to Malaysia's Malay Mail and other outlets on the 2nd local time, ASEAN member states' defense ministers signed a 25-point joint declaration to promote ASEAN unity for security and prosperity.
It included a call to establish a substantive code of conduct for the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which guarantees freedom of navigation for all foreign vessels within exclusive economic zones (EEZs). ASEAN and China had discussed a South China Sea code of conduct, but differed over whether it would be legally binding and other issues.
Earlier, the Malay Mail also reported, "China agreed to work to conclude a legally binding code of conduct during last month's ASEAN summit and the subsequent defense ministers' meeting."
ASEAN member states' defense ministers welcomed the cease-fire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, which recently engaged in military clashes, and the establishment of an ASEAN monitoring mission in which Malaysia and others will participate. On Myanmar's civil war, they stressed that the five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN and Myanmar's military in 2021, including an end to violence, must be fully implemented to resolve the conflict peacefully.
Myanmar has not honored the consensus, and ASEAN has excluded Myanmar's military from various meetings.
At the ASEAN defense ministers' meeting with partners (ADMM-Plus) held the previous day, participants also reaffirmed their commitment to regional stability and cooperation.
Countries participating in the ADMM-Plus agreed to cooperate on measures such as information sharing and confidence building to address security challenges.
Mohamed Khaled, Malaysia's defense minister who led this defense ministers' meeting, said it "exceeded expectations" and "was not a mere formality." He added, "A spirit that values cooperation over competition and solidarity over division ensures the stability of our region and the safety of our future."
Opening on the 30th of last month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and closing on this day, the ASEAN defense ministers' meeting brought together defense-minister-level officials from 11 ASEAN countries and eight partner countries, including Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand.