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Deputy Defense Minister Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien leads the high-ranking Vietnamese military delegation to the meeting. |
The high-ranking Vietnamese military delegation to the meeting was led by Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien.
In his opening remarks, General Nem Sowath, Director of the General Department of Policy and Foreign Affairs under the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense emphasized the importance of this meeting in preparation for the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM). The Cambodian mentioned a draft joint statement to submit to the ADMM and discussions to enhance the defense cooperation among the ASEAN member states.
At the event, heads of delegations heard reports on the outcomes of the ADSOM Working Group, the 16th annual meeting of the Network of ASEAN Defense and Security Institutions (NADI-16), the 19th ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces’ Meeting (ACDFM-19). They also heard the updates on ASEAN defense cooperation.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and other head delegates in a joint photo |
Addressing the meeting, Gen. Chien thanked the host for their thoughtful reception. The Vietnamese head delegate congratulated and highly appreciated Cambodian Ministry of National Defense and Royal Armed Forces for organizing ASEAN meetings in the in-person format.
According to Gen. Chien, the organization of meetings, including ADSOM and ADSOM+, in the offline form will create conditions for participating countries to share their viewpoints and issues of common concern.
The Vietnamese deputy defense minister informed that Vietnam will host an annual meeting of the ASEAN Peacekeeping Centers Network (APCN) this September in in-person form.
He added that Vietnam is developing a document guiding the implementation of an initiative on placing the ASEAN flag next to the national flags at the military units of ASEAN member states participating in U.N. peacekeeping operations. The initiative was approved at the 14th ADMM in December 2020.
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An overview of the meeting |
The Vietnamese official hoped that the ADMM joint statement will be unanimously adopted by all countries at the upcoming meeting held in the offline form. According to the Vietnamese head delegate, the adoption of the statement is significant since it reflects solidarity and unity among ASEAN member states in handling regional and world affairs for peace, stability, cooperation and development.
Also at the event, head delegates discussed and agreed on documents to be submitted to the ADMM and ADMM+ for approval in 2022, including new initiatives, the Phnom Penh Vision Statement on the role of defense agencies in ASEAN countries in support of post-COVID-19 recovery and ADMM and ADMM+ joint statements.
They also discussed cooperation activities with ASEAN partners and within ADMM and ADMM Retreat.
Reported by Thu Trang from Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Translated by Chung Anh