The 14th meeting of ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism will be held in New Delhi on March 19-20.

India and Malaysia will co-chair the meeting. Delegations from 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand) and eight dialogue partners (Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, USA and Russia) along with Timor Leste and ASEAN Secretariat will be participating in the meeting.

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India will co-chair the EWG on Counter-Terrorism for the first time. On March 19, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh will deliver the keynote address during the opening ceremony.

This will be the first meeting for activities planned for EWG on Counter-Terrorism for the ongoing cycle from 2024-2027. Discussions will focus on evolving a robust and comprehensive strategy designed to tackle the evolving threat of terrorism and extremism.

The meeting aims to share the on-ground experience of the Defence Forces of ASEAN and its dialogue partners. It will lay the foundation for the activities/exercises/seminars/workshop planned for the cycle 2024-2027.

The ADMM-Plus serves as a platform for practical cooperation amongst the participating countries’ defence establishments. It currently focuses on seven areas of practical cooperation – Counter-Terrorism, Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management, Peacekeeping Operations, Military Medicine, Humanitarian Mine Action and Cyber Security. EWGs have been established to facilitate cooperation in these areas.

The EWGs are each co-chaired by one ASEAN member state and one dialogue partner following a three-year cycle. The task of the co-chairs is to lay down the objectives, policy guidelines and directions for the EWG for the three-year cycle at the commencement of the chairmanship, conduct of regular EWG meetings (minimum two in a year) and an exercise of any form (Table-Top/Field Training/Staff/Communication etc.) for all member nations in the third year to test the progress made in practical cooperation during the three-year cycle.