BANGKOK, 27 August 2014 – The Royal Thai Navy has hosted the 8th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting under the theme “Roles for the ASEAN Navies after ASEAN Integration in 2015”. The meeting was aimed to discuss and exchange views on regional maritime cooperation.
The 8th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting, which was one of the military-to-military interactions under the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had commenced on August 27th, 2014.
The meeting, with participation from Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, held discussions on cooperative activities as well as maritime security between each nation, as well as their action plans for the next two years.
ASEAN Navy Chiefs Meeting was first held in 2001 and was hosted rotationally by each ASEAN countries as a platform for the ASEAN Navy Chiefs in order exchange opinions on prevailing issues of the regional maritime security situation to enhance good understanding, trust, and confidence.
Apart from the enhancement of the relationship, representatives from each of the member countries attended the meeting to discuss the initiatives brought forward by each navy including the draft ASEAN Navies Roadmap, which aims to align the ASEAN Navies to sail towards the same purpose and objectives.
The Royal Thai Navy has proposed to host an international fleet review in 2017 to join ASEAN in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of its founding. They also proposed to the friendly navies to conduct multilateral combined naval exercise among ASEAN navies as well. With all the proposals, the Royal Thai Navy is confident that it would shore up close relationship and cooperation among the ASEAN navies, and foster a good image in the world community.
