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| Pehin Datu Padukaraja Maj. Gen. Dató Seri Pahlawan Haji Shari bin Ahmad, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, presents Adm. Dennis C. Blair with a memento for hosting the successful high level meeting. |
The military leaders and civilian experts examined a wide range of interwoven political, economic and military issues, such as globalization, Y2K, modernization, international exercises and operations, and future trends. Gen. Hugh Shelton, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was a participant and the event’s keynote speaker. He stressed the importance of regional cooperation in addressing the challenges confronting Asia-Pacific security as we enter the 21st century. (See the box accompanying this article.)
The overall aim of this distinguished gathering is to increase military-to-military cooperation at the highest levels by sharing views on issues that confront more than one country in the region, issues that cut across national lines and usually involve economic and political as well as military dimensions. The second Chiefs of Defense Conference achieved this aim and set the stage for deepening regional military cooperation in future meetings. The conference will be held again in late 2000 and likely will continue to be held in Hawaii as an annual forum for high level military-to-military dialogue among chiefs of defense of the Asia-Pacific region.
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Gen. Ved Prakash Malik, Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee of India and Lt. Gen. Bey Soo Khiang, Chief of Defence Force of Singapore (in front row) listen to a vendor's presentation at "TechNet 99" being held near the conference site. |
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