ASEAN, dialogue partners agree to stop cyber, terrorism attacks

BANGKOK, November 5 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan has participated in the latest ASEAN Defence Minister Meeting with eight dialogue partners of the 10-member bloc in Malaysia this week, during which the participants have agreed to step up measures to fight against regional threats, including cyber attacks, terrorism, marine security and even natural disasters. Thai Defence Ministry Spokesman Major General Khongcheep Tantravanich told journalists in Bangkok on November 4 that the agreement was reached during the 3rd ASEAN Defence Minister Meeting with eight dialogue partners (3rd ADMM-Plus), which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, during November 3-4. The spokesman said the 3rd ADMM-Plus was attended by defence ministers of all 10 ASEAN member countries and ASEAN's eight dialogue partners, including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States. According to the spokesman, the participants agreed that the threats have posed significant challenges and required a closer cooperation among allied countries in the region. Besides, the participants discussed an ongoing tensions in the South China Sea and agreed that the problems need to be jointly resolved through mutual trust and respect of the international law. The spokesman stated that the participants also expressed their belief that problems in the South China Sea must be stopped through non-military approaches. This year's annual ADMM-Plus meeting with the dialogue partners ended without any issuance of a joint statement by participants for the first time, after it was first held in 2013. The latest China-US friction was reportedly erupted last week, after a US guided-missile destroyer , the USS Lassen, sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the China–built land formations in the disputed Spratly Islands. Washington insisted it has freedom of navigation in the area, while Beijing charged it was a threat to China's sovereignty. On the sidelines of the two-day ADMM-Plus, the Thai deputy prime minister and defence minister also held bilateral talks with the defence ministers of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia on cooperation to step up security at the Malacca Straits and they agreed to set up a working committee to oversee marine security, especially on piracy, in the area. (TNA)