At the meeting, the US Secretary of Defense shared Washington’s viewpoint on the links between the US and the Asia-Pacific region, and reaffirmed US support for a world order based on international law and for the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) mechanism. He said that the US will continue expanding its cooperation to address regional and global challenges and pointed out three major areas of its defense-security cooperation with ASEAN countries, namely maritime security, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and anti-terrorism.

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 Delegates at the meeting. Photo: Thang Anh

 

For their parts, ASEAN head delegates exchanged their views on regional and international security issues, Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear program, disputes in the East Sea (South China Sea), and security threats coming from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).

Attending the meeting, Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Hai, Director of the Vietnam National Defense Strategy Institute and head of the Vietnamese defense delegation reaffirmed Vietnam will continue promoting its role in regional security-defense forums and hoped that the US Government would continue taking its responsible part in regional defense-security cooperation mechanisms led by ASEAN such as ADDM+.

In conclusion, the US Secretary of Defense thanked for the participation ASEAN member countries’ head delegates, and reaffirmed that the US’s interests are closely attached to regional development and prosperity.

Translated by Trung Thanh