Singapore will chair the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the wider ADMM-Plus in 2027, after Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing received the chairmanship from Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr in Mactan, Cebu, on Thursday, 29 October. The handover came at the close of the 13th ADMM-Plus and starts Singapore’s run of defence diplomacy ahead of its ASEAN chairmanship in 2027.
What the ADMM and ADMM-Plus are
The ADMM is ASEAN’s defence ministers’ meeting, and Timor-Leste is now the bloc’s 11th member. The ADMM-Plus adds eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
As chair, Singapore will host and steer these meetings in 2027. The theme Singapore has set for the 2027 ADMM and ADMM-Plus is “Future-ready, Adaptive and Resilient”.
The case Mr Chan made in Cebu
Mr Chan put the chairmanship in terms of the range of interests in the room. “There is a diversity of aspirations, a diversity of capabilities around the world, and we will need a mechanism that allows us to build an overlapping network of bilateral and plurilateral ties in order to advance our shared interests.” He went on: “it is our responsibility and our hope that we will be able to work closely with everyone in this hall and beyond”.
A full week of meetings
Mr Chan was in Cebu from 27 to 30 October. On 28 October he attended the 20th ADMM, as well as informal meetings between ASEAN defence ministers and their counterparts from the United States and Japan.
On the sidelines, he held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Australia.
Why it matters for Singapore
Singapore last chaired ASEAN in 2018. The chair sets the agenda for the ADMM and ADMM-Plus and hosts both sets of meetings in its chairmanship year.
Because the ADMM-Plus table includes the United States, China and Russia alongside ASEAN, the 2027 chairmanship puts Singapore at the centre of a forum where all three sit with ASEAN ministers.
