SINGAPORE has urged the international defence community to move from dialogue to action to enable military forces to handle new or unknown threats as security challenges become more globalised.
On the final day of the 5th Shangri-La Dialogue, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told the conference that, while countries 'may not agree on everything', areas of agreement can become a basis for cooperation.
Minister Teo's remarks to move from dialogue to action echo views of others at security summit
By David Boey, Defence Correspondent
SINGAPORE has urged the international defence community to move from dialogue to action to enable military forces to handle new or unknown threats as security challenges become more globalised.
On the final day of the 5th Shangri-La Dialogue, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told the conference that, while countries 'may not agree on everything', areas of agreement can become a basis for cooperation.
Mr Teo cited humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peace-keeping, and efforts to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction, as well as maritime security, as areas in which military forces could work together.
He told delegates that the multinational relief operation for the 2004 Asian tsunami was an example of how countries could work together. But the response could be even quicker if military personnel, who make up the bulk of relief teams, trained more
regularly for such missions.
'That one or two days saved could mean more lives saved, more comfort brought to victims of a disaster,' Mr Teo said.
The minister's call to action echoed views expressed by his fellow defence ministers at the security summit this weekend, that it is time to take things a step further.
Echoing a similar view, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Najib Tun Razak said: 'We need to go beyond words... We need to encourage a greater level of cooperation in a variety of areas, which would enhance our notion of a security community.'
Datuk Seri Najib was speaking at a session on how Asia-Pacific could create such a regional community.
To support his point, he suggested that a South-east Asia disaster relief centre be set up, so countries could respond rapidly to natural disasters, such as the earthquake which hit Central Java last month.
Yesterday's discussions wrapped up the three-day event, which was organised by London's International Institute for Strategic Studies.
It began on Friday with the arrival of some 300 delegates from 23 countries. In their ranks were 14 defence ministers or their deputies, and 11 military chiefs - a record participation for the event.
The event's status as a non-government meeting encourages delegates to speak their minds freely without the protocol or restrictions with which governmental meetings are burdened.
Before the talks wound up yesterday afternoon, a flurry of activity took place behind closed doors, as defence ministers took advantage of the summit to meet their counterparts.
Mr Teo met Datuk Seri Najib and Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono separately, and hosted a luncheon with defence ministers and their representatives.
United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld skipped the conference yesterday. Instead, Mr Rumsfeld, Admiral William Fallon, Commander of the US Pacific Command, and top Pentagon aides were holed up in a hotel ballroom behind a phalanx of security men, hosting delegations from various countries and assorted press calls.
The 5th Shangri-La Dialogue has confirmed its status as a important event on the calendar of Asia-Pacific powers.
Yesterday morning, Mr Teo sketched how an idea for 'Eyes in the Sky' floated at last year's conference by Datuk Seri Najib had evolved into patrols flown by military aircraft as an aerial deterrent to sea pirates and seaborne terrorists. The first aerial flights were launched barely half a year after the idea was broached.
Using this to show that the Shangri-La Dialogue was more than a talking shop, Mr Teo said: 'We should sustain the significant progress that we have made in maritime security, while expanding our cooperation to other areas, such as counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, environmental clean-up and avian flu.'
