The ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (AARM) is an annual

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

, and machine gun competition between the

armies An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the member

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...

(ASEAN). 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.

History

The ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet was the brainchild of a Commander-in-Chief of the

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army (; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysi ...

, who envisioned the participation of ASEAN armies in a joint military activity. The inaugural AARM was hosted by

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

in 1991 and included Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as inaugural competitors. 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.

Events

The AARM consists of five main match disciplines:

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

, men's

, ladies' pistol, and machine gun. 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.

List of champion states

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

has won the most number of championships since the AARM began in 1991; the

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

has 14 championships on record, followed by the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

with eight. Malaysia and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

have both won three times, while the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

was champion once.

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

have yet to win a championship. 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.

References

{{Association of SouthEast Asian Nations Armed Forces ASEAN sports events Military skills competitions Shooting competitions in Asia