PANO - ASEAN Navy Chiefs agreed to implement deeper cooperation in the region for the sake of peace, stability, security and safety at sea and for the common prosperity of the ASEAN Community.

This agreement was made at the fifth ASEAN Navy Chiefs Meeting (ANCM-5) held in Hanoi on July 27th.

The fifth ASEAN Navy Chiefs Meeting

In his welcome speech, Lieutenant-General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of Vietnam People’s Army stressed that “the regional security is undergoing new developments in which special attention is being drawn to the maritime security. Ensuring a peaceful and stable maritime environment where there is a harmony of interest and insurance for sustainable economic development is our common desire that brings us together and moves us ahead on cooperation".

During the one-day meeting, themed “Cooperation among ASEAN Navies for peace and maritime security”, participants shared their viewpoints and discussed cooperation mechanisms providing essential guidelines and basic directions for multilateral navy-to-navy cooperation activities in the Southeast Asia region.

According to Vice Admiral Nguyen Van Hien, Chief of Vietnam People's Navy, the trend of peace and friendly cooperation in the seas has been continued over the years with several positive elements being created to facilitate both the intra- and extra-regional naval cooperation. Cooperation has proved its effectiveness. For instance, the anti-piracy joint patrols in the Strait of Malacca have resulted in the massive reduction of the scourge on this important sea line of international communication.

However, the Southeast Asia region is confronting with significant security challenges, traditional and nontraditional alike, which recently have become more and more complicated, demanding for an outstanding collective effort by regional naval forces.

“The fact is that in our region, there exist overlapping territorial claims on some islands and waters, mostly in the East Sea. Added to this are ongoing deliberate actions by some country that violate other countries’ national sovereignty, threaten peace and stability in the region and the world as a whole as they harbour the potential of military clashes in the absence of a common appropriate awareness, the determination for peaceful solutions and effective conflict management measures,” said Vice Admiral Hien.

Photo of ASEAN Navy Chiefs 

To overcome these challenges, navies from ASEAN countries need to strengthen solidarity, tighten relations and boost cooperation in order to facilitate peaceful solutions and dialogues and reduce the risk of armed conflicts. It is necessary to formulate a united and determined position of the peaceful settlement through negotiations and dialogues towards claim disputes on areas of the sea, conforming to international laws, including the UNCLOS 1982. A full implementation of the DOC and the effort to achieve the COC between ASEAN and China is much needed.

Good news is that ASEAN and China have recently moved one step forward in this direction by reaching the finalization of Guidelines on the Implementation of DOC. Such an effort needs a uniformity of awareness across government, agencies as well as citizens, plus the consistency between speech and actions.

Combined cooperation activities, such as joint patrols, port calls of ship exchanges, hot line establishment and information sharing portal and center set-up, initiated by some ASEAN Navy Chiefs were also suggested and discussed at the meeting.

General Phung Quang Thanh receives ASEAN Navy Chiefs

* In the afternoon the same day, ASEAN Navy Chiefs paid a courtesy visit to General Phung Quang Thanh, Politburo member, Defence Minister of Vietnam.

At the reception, General Thanh highly appreciated achievements gained in the ANCM-5 and wished ASEAN Navies to promote their deep and practical cooperation, contributing to the regional peace and security.

Regarding dispute over sovereignty in the East Sea, the General stressed that Vietnam strived to defence its territorial sovereignty along with protect a peaceful and stable environment in the East Sea as well as strengthen its friendly relationships neighboring countries.

Mai Huong-Bao Trung