ASEAN_Armies_Rifle_Meet
The ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (AARM) is an annual rifle, pistol, and machine gun competition between the armies of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Its aim is to foster friendly competition and goodwill between the members' armies, and to give its officers and men the opportunity for professional interaction and to strengthen their social bonds and camaraderie.[1]
| ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Military shooting competition |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Rotates among host member states of ASEAN |
| Years active | 32 |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Malaysian Army |
| Most recent | AARM 2019 (Indonesia) 20 November 2019 - 24 November 2019 |
| Previous event | AARM 2018 (Malaysia) 17 November 2018 - 24 November 2018 |
| Next event | AARM 2022 (Vietnam) |
| Participants | |
| Activity |
|
| Organized by | Association of Southeast Asian Nations |
The ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet was the brainchild of a Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian Army, who envisioned the participation of ASEAN armies in a joint military activity.[2] The inaugural AARM was hosted by Malaysia in 1991[1] and included Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as inaugural competitors.[3] Malaysia took the first team championship crown that year.
The 2000 AARM was the first event wherein all ten ASEAN member countries participated, coinciding with the inaugural ASEAN Chiefs of Army Multilateral Meeting (ACAMM). The inaugural ASEAN Army Sergeant Majors Annual Meeting (ASMAM) was held 2011. All three meetings have been regular annual events since then.[3]
The AARM consists of five main match disciplines: rifle, carbine, men's pistol, ladies' pistol, and machine gun.[4] Each discipline consists of an individual and a team match. The top three in each match are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. The trophy categories include overall individual champion for each discipline, overall team champion for each discipline, and overall champion in the "falling plate" event for each discipline.[3]
Indonesia has won the most number of championships since the AARM began in 1991; the Indonesian Army has 13 championships on record, followed by the Royal Thai Army with eight. Malaysia and Singapore have both won three times, while the Philippines and Vietnam was champion once.[5] Brunei, Cambodia and Laos have yet to win a championship.[2]
In 2019, a new format for competition was adopted wherein the participating ASEAN member states were grouped into four teams, Team Alligator, Team Bear, Team Cheetah and Team Dragon. Team Alligator emerged as champion that year.[6]
| Year | Host | Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 |  Malaysia |
Malaysia |
| 2 | 1992 |  Indonesia |
Indonesia |
| 3 | 1993 |  Brunei |
Malaysia |
| 4 | 1994 |  Thailand |
Thailand |
| 5 | 1995 |  Philippines |
 Singapore |
| 6 | 1996 | Singapore |
Singapore |
| 7 | 1997 | Malaysia |
Malaysia |
| 8 | 1998 | Indonesia |
Thailand |
| 9 | 1999 | Brunei |
Thailand |
| 10 | 2000 | Thailand |
Thailand |
| 11 | 2001 | Philippines |
Thailand |
| 12 | 2002 | Singapore |
Singapore |
| 13 | 2003 | Malaysia |
Thailand |
| 14 | 2004 | Indonesia |
Indonesia |
| 15 | 2005 | Brunei |
Philippines |
| 16 | 2006 |  Vietnam |
Indonesia |
| 17 | 2007 | Thailand |
Thailand |
| 18 | 2008 | Philippines |
Indonesia |
| 19 | 2009 | Singapore |
Indonesia |
| 20 | 2010 | Malaysia |
Indonesia |
| 21 | 2011 | Indonesia |
Indonesia |
| 22 | 2012 | Brunei |
Indonesia |
| 23 | 2013 |  Myanmar |
Indonesia |
| 24 | 2014 | Vietnam |
Indonesia |
| 25 | 2015 | Thailand |
Thailand[7] |
| 26 | 2016 | Philippines |
Indonesia[5] |
| 27 | 2017 | Singapore |
Indonesia[8] |
| 28 | 2018 | Malaysia |
Indonesia[9] |
| 29 | 2019 | Indonesia |
Team Alligator[6] |
| 30 | 2022 | Vietnam |
Vietnam[10] |
- Singapore Ministry of Defence (18 October 1996). "SAF Tops Sixth ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet". Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- Royal Thai Army (24 March 2015). "Background of ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet". Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- Ang, Geraldine (13 November 2017). "Fact Sheet: ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet" (PDF). Singapore Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- Gines, Erika Mariel (8 December 2016). "26th Asean Armies Rifle Meet concludes in Pampanga". SunStar Philippines. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- Fonbuena, Carmela (11 December 2016). "Indonesia proves it has best shooters among ASEAN armies". Rappler. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- Ministry of Defense Brunei Darussalam. "Closing Ceremony of the 29th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet 2019". Retrieved 18 November 2020.
This year's AARM showcased a new format where 10 ASEAN countries were grouped together into four teams namely Team Alligator, Team Bear, Team Cheetah and Team Dragon. The Alligator team emerged as the overall champion with 6 trophies, 33 gold medals, 26 silver medals and 21 bronze medals, followed by the Bear team at second place with 6 trophies, 32 gold medals, 33 silver medals and 6 bronze medals. The Cheetah team came at third place with 2 trophies, 11 gold medals, 11 silver medals and 41 bronze medals and while fourth place went to Dragon team with 1 medals, 10 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 18 bronze medals.
- "ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet concludes". Voice of Vietnam. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- Aw, Cheng Wei (22 November 2017). "Asean armies shoot for trophies - and closer defence ties - at annual rifle competition". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- Hakim, Syaiful (23 November 2018). "Indonesian army wins 28 gold medals at AARM 2018". Antara News. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- "PT. Pindad (Persero) - Senjata & Munisi Pindad Dukung Kontingen Petembak TNI AD Raih Juara kedua Lomba Tembak Tingkat ASEAN". pindad.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.