REGI ON AL
M I L I T A R Y
HE 2004 Brunei Defence White Paper stated that the security and prosperity of Brunei rested upon on three pillars of national policy, namely; the cohesion and stability of the nation guided by the Malay Islamic Monarchy philosophy; a stable regional environment in which Brunei’s membership of ASEAN enables it to pursue national goals free from external interference; and the maintenance of Brunei’s defence capabilities including its armed forces to preserve the nation’s sovereignty, protection of its territorial integrity and interests, and secure freedom and independence. The White Paper then went on to further state that as a result, priorities in regards to defence were; maintaining stability and cohesion within the nation; protecting national interests in adjacent maritime areas; reinforcing the integrity of the nation’s borders; enhancing national capabilities in counter terrorism; cooperation within ASEAN on issues of shared concern and supporting the stability of neighbours; further regional security cooperation through dialogue, increased transparency and crisis management; and develop a robust and flexible defence capability able to handle the complex set of current tasks while retaining the capacity to deter aggression. The 2007 Brunei Defence White Paper Update stated that while new strategic dynamics had appeared since the 2004 White Paper
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was published; there was no change to the priorities on defence. It noted that, in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, that the impact of environmental and natural disasters and the appropriate responses to such was one of two strategic dynamics which had emerged since the 2004 White Paper. The other strategic dynamic noted was the increasingly complex intersection between broader international security trends and regional and domestic stability. Noting that the challenges of develop-
Since the publication of the 2007 Update, the JOC has become a reality with the award of a contract in January 2010 to Northrop Grumman
ment have increased domestic instability and raised the prospect of state failure, particularly among several smaller, less developed nations in the region, the 2007 Update stressed the need for neighbouring nations to support national governments in managing such pressures as being important to the stability and progress of the region as a whole. It then further went on to say that as such, in addition to the defence priorities in the 2004 White Paper, the new dynamics resulted in significant additional emphasis having to be placed upon; pro-
moting a more robust regional security dialogue to better understand and, where appropriate, develop cooperative policies and responses towards those shared strategic challenges; developing appropriate mechanisms to facilitate cooperation in responding to any major security crisis that may arise with little or no warning; significantly enhancing the capacity and availability of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) to contribute to those cooperative regional operations as well as priority national tasks; and strengthening Brunei’s ability to make a modest yet credible contribution to wider United Nation’s peace support and humanitarian relief operations. The 2007 Update focused upon the development of the RBAF as a flexible force, multiroled and able to configure to generate the right capability with sufficient levels of readiness, mobility, interoperability and sustainability. The multi-role aspect included missions such as humanitarian and disaster relief. It stated that the RBAF needed to be able to be flexible in the variety of tasks they can undertake across a range of transnational, natural disaster and peace operations; and at the same time not only being credible in performing specific roles but also sustainable on operations for some time. It added that the RBAF had to be potentially able to undertake several tasks concurrently and be interoperable with regional and international security partners. The 2007 Update then proceeded to state
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