The Paper Presentation to be delivered by Lieutenant General Mya Tun - - PDF document

The Paper Presentation to be delivered by Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo, Commander of No. (6) Bureau of Special Operations and Chief of Military Security Affairs at the 13th ASEAN Chiefs of Military Intelligence Informal Meeting (13th AMIIM ) Honourable Chairman, Heads of ASEAN Armed Forces Delegations, and Distinguished Guests, Allow me first like to express my appreciation and pleasure regarding the success of the AMIIM meetings that have been held regularly every year,and indeed it is a privilege for me to be a participant at this 13th meeting. I also extend my best wishes to all the delegates from the ASEAN Armed Forces and the distinguished guests for their well-being and prosperity. May I also convey my heartfelt thanks to Director General of Military Intelligence Department who is chairing this meeting, Brigadier General Thongvanh CHANTHAVONG and all those responsible for their warm welcome and hospitality extended to our delegation. I would further like to congratulate the Lao People's Army for their excellent arrangements in hosting the 13th ACDFIM Meeting. I believe that at today's meeting under the capable leadership of Director General of Military Intelligence of the Lao People's Army Brigadier General Thongvanh CHANTHAVONG, our ASEAN military intelligence

• rganizations will find new pathways towards closer cooperation. In

accordance with the theme of 13thAMIIM meeting which states,“Enhancing ASEAN Military Intelligence Cooperation for ASEAN Community

2 Building”,we of the ASEAN military intelligence community will forge closer ties and achieve success in new areas of cooperation. Honourable Chairman, Heads of ASEAN Armed Forces Delegations, and Distinguished Guests, The ASEAN Armed Forces which are strong and sound institutions play a crucial role and have the principal dutyof establishing and maintaining peace and stability in the region; it is their responsibility to ensuresecurity of life and property for our people and to create conditions for comprehensive and sustainable development in our Southeast Asian Region. For the ASEAN Armed Forces to successfully carry out these tasks it is the duty of our military intelligence organizations to give every support and assistance. To enable our ASEAN Armed Forces to fully implement these tasks of establishing regional security and stability it is our unquestionable duty to gather true and accurate information and relay and disseminate it in time to the proper authorities, for correct and authentic information and facts is the bloodline of our Armed Forces. In the contemporary world today the world's countries are confronted with and are having to resolve both traditional and non-traditional security threats and challenges. Of these two, non-traditional threats are more of a challenge and more difficult to resolve for they are more or less unpredictable and catches people unaware. It is my sincere belief that in the attempt to solve such threats and challenges, it would be far more effective for countries to face and resolve them in unity than for each country to cope with such

3 difficulties single-handedly. Of all the non-traditional challenges and threats that confront world's regions, that which can rarely be predicted or prevented are natural disasters thatcause the greatest devastation to life and property. The region most vulnerable to natural disasters is our Southeast-Asia

• Region. Every year we face loss of life and damage to property due to

drought, forest fires, earthquake, volcanic eruptions, landslides, Tsunamis, cyclones and typhoons, floods and atmospheric pollution from haze and

• smog. In November 2015, forest fires broke out in Indonesia, the smoke from

which caused a haze that spread and polluted the air across the region. In Myanmar, also, as you are all know, in June and July of 2015 unusually heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in 12 of our 14 states and

• divisions. Such natural disasters cause great socio-economic loss and also

damages natural resources which therefore has a direct negative impact upon the development of countries in the region. So, may I take this opportunity to thank our ASEAN friends who gave us necessary help and assistance in the time of our need. Honourable Chairman, Heads of ASEAN Armed Forces Delegations, and Distinguished Guests, The 2008 Constitution contains an article which stipulates that the Defence Services shall render assistance when calamities that affects the Union and its citizens occur in the Union. Accordingly when natural disaster strikes, the Myanmar Defence Services need not wait for orders from above but must without delay commence search and rescue work, provide

4 medical assistance, arrange for the provision of food and water, build temporary shelters and begin rehabilitation work as soon as possible. The Myanmar Defence Services has always performed such duties and thus plays a principal role in times of emergency. With regard to the humanitarian work carried out by the Myanmar Navy, in 2015 last year, it rescued 1043 boat people or refugees in Myanmar territorial waters who had been the victims of people smuggling by criminal

• gangs. Of these 777 people were officially verified as Bangladeshi citizens

and sent home safely. The rest are still in the process of verification being conducted in collaboration with Bangladesh authorities, and once this has been completed arrangements will be made to return them to their country of

• rigin. After being rescued the boat people were cared for in temporary

refugee camps where they received necessary medical care as well as much needed food, water and clothing. The Myanmar naval regularly patrols territorial waters to prevent illegal immigrants, human smuggling and human trafficking and also to protect victims of such crimes. Search and rescue of such victims is one of the main tasks of the Myanmar Navy. In May 2015, the Myanmar and Indonesia governments successfully cooperated in just such a humanitarian task. Five hundred and thirty-five Myanmar fishermen who had been the victims of human trafficking were rescued and brought back home to Myanmar. On 26th July 2005 ASEAN member countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER)

5 at Vientiane, the Lao Democratic People's Republic, which was followed by enhancement of cooperation. The ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) which had been set up in November 2011 in order to achieve closer coordination in dealing with disaster relief and management and other humanitarian issues, greatly facilitated interaction among the ASEAN member countries. Myanmar on her part was able to attend as observer to the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercises and Forums hosted by ASEAN member countries such as the Study Programme on Thailand's Humanitarian Mine Action, 2013 and the ARF DiREx, 2013; the ADMM Plus and HADR andMMEX 2013; the Final Planning Conference (FPC) and the 2nd AHX held in Brunei, as well as the 6th ADMM Plus, EWG onHADR (Table top Exercise) held in Laos. Honourable Chairman, Heads of ASEAN Armed Forces Delegations, and Distinguished Guests, With regard to the need for Natural Disaster Preparedness what is of utmost importance is an efficient and effective Early Warning System. An Early Warning System can mitigate the after effects of a natural disaster by saving many lives and reducing damage and destruction of property. It is necessary to consider two parts in disaster management, namely the pre and post disaster periods. In the period before adisaster strikes there are three steps to be taken; the first is to take precautions; the second to make arrangements to reduce damage and third is preparedness. However an Early Warning System plays a crucial role in disaster preparedness. There are also

6 three steps once disaster has struck, there must be an emergency response: to be followed by rehabilitation and lastly there must be rebuilding. Such work is necessary and these are the conditions that must be fulfilled if we wish to restore the socio-economic life of the people. It is my viewthat our fellow ASEAN Armed Forces should exchange advance information regarding impending disasters with the use of advanced communications and information technology. We need also to establish an information and news exchange system in order that each ASEAN Armed Forces on its own or in cooperation with other ASEAN Armed Forces will be able to give help and assistance in time by sending relief goods, food supplies, medicine and other necessities to the disaster area. If we are equipped with such a speedy and effective centre we shall be able to draw up a systematic disaster management

• plan. Finally, there should be a constant exchange of experiences and views

among the ASEAN Armed Forces on how to counter and overcome the devastation caused by natural disasters. In my opinion, if we of the ASEAN Armed Forces should conduct joint disaster response strategic and tactical exercises while promoting the use and exchange of modern high tech methods it would contribute much towardsmitigating the damage and loss of life inflicted by natural disasters. Furthermore, our ASEAN Armed Forces in drawing up and planning disaster preparedness and disaster management in cooperation, we should give priority to the need for an Early Warning System as well as a Monitoring System in the region which will contribute towards disaster preparedness.

7 Other requirements include laying down the principles and guidelines for emergency response and for mitigation of the after effects of natural disasters. The damage caused by natural disasters can be alleviated only if there is immediate and timely emergency response. If there should be a natural disaster of great force in the region, we need to have a common plan for taking pre-emptive and preventive action and guidelines for systematic managementin the aftermath of the disaster. We need all the cooperation we can get, to quickly convey relief goods and other essentials to the disaster area. Honourable Chairman, Heads of ASEAN Armed Forces Delegations, and Distinguished Guests, We have all been informed that climate change and global warming is going to have a huge impact this year with the El Nino effect which is going to raise temperatures as well as sea levels. We have been told that countries in the Southeast Asian Region are especially vulnerable to natural disasters this year. So, we all need to be prepared beforehand to deal with it so that it causes as little harm as possible. The effects of the El Nino will be experienced in the form of high temperatures, scarcity of drinking water,

• utbreak of fire, the drying up of rivers, creeks and lakes and diseases related

to such conditions as well as the impact it will have on agriculture and livestock, which in turn will result in food shortage. These are the problems we will be facing. This means that during the El Nino heat wave, our ASEAN Armed Forces will have to cooperate more closely both bilaterally and

8 multilaterally to exchange and share important information to resolve these

• problems. It is imperative at this verycritical time for the intelligence
• rganizations of the ASEAN Armed Forces to be firmly united, and in full

confidence and trust, disseminate and share intelligence and information on a regular basis; we must also cooperate closely at all times and with every

• pportunity if we are to overcome this enormous threat to the security of our

region and to the welfare of our people. Honourable Chairman, Heads of ASEAN Armed Forces Delegations, and Distinguished Guests, In conclusion I would like to say that the ASEAN Armed Forces bear a great responsibility and therefore play an important role in establishing peace and stability in our Southeast Asian Region and in ensuring the security and welfare of our peoples. Each of our countries for its welfare and progress, has to establish relations and cooperate with other countries in the region as well as with the international community. But each of the countries in the region must also be aware of the competition that exists between the super powers in the world, the imbalances of power and their strategic plans. So, our ASEAN Armed Forces mustmake utmost efforts to modernize and strengthen our forces and depending only on the strength of the forces in our region do our best to be prepared to overcome the non-traditional security threats and challenges that we face today. It is also the duty of the intelligence

• rganizations of our Armed Forces to disseminate and share intelligence and

information that will benefit our Armed Forces in timely fashion. In

9 accordance with our theme which says; “Enhancing ASEAN Military Intelligence Cooperation for ASEAN Community Building”, it is my sincere hope that our intelligence organizations through close and mutual cooperation will be able to contribute towards the realization of the future goals and aspirations of the ASEAN Community. Thank You.