ASEAN-Plus exercise officially kicks off in Brunei

RUARA, Brunei, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The opening ceremony of the inaugural ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise ( ADMM PLUS HADR & MM Ex) was held Monday at the Multi National Coordination Centre here which marks the official start of the exercise.

The opening ceremony was officiated by Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF). Present to witness the officiating ceremony were senior officials and personnel from all the participating countries.

During the opening ceremony, the Commander of RBAF activated the button which showcased a video montage that included a brief history of ADMM and ADMM- Plus, the arrival of the troops, exercise preparation and Force Integration Training (FIT). The ceremony concluded with a group photo session.

Earlier, Ships from the United States of America, T-AKE 9 U5N5 USS Matthew Perry and the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy's hospital ship PEACE ARK arrived Sunday to partake in the drill from June 17 until 20.

Both USNS Matthew Perry and PEACE ARK's visit to Brunei aims at making contributions to the regional cooperation in non- traditional security, and also at promoting friendship among the ADMM-Plus nations.

This combined exercise will bring together more than 2,000 military personnel from the 10 ASEAN countries as well as the 8 Plus countries which include Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The exercise is intended to be based on natural disaster scenario affecting a fictitious state. Exercise play will focus on activities related to search and rescue, military medicine, engineer tasks and delivery and distribution of aid and supply by land, air and sea in the emergency phase of a "disaster."

The exercise is essentially a military-to-military cooperation exercise, designed to formulate and develop a common set of Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs). The exercise objective is to elevate military practical cooperation from ASEAN level to ASEAN Plus level, and build upon ASEAN militaries' experiences of previous exercises.

Essentially, the objective is to enhance military-to-military interoperability, coordination and cooperation amongst the 18 participating countries.

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