On behalf of the VPA leaders, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong warmly welcomed delegates.
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Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong welcomes delegates. |
The Vietnamese general emphasized that ASEAN marked its 55th founding anniversary on August 8, 2022. Over the past years, ASEAN member countries have stood side by side to develop the grouping into one of the successful regional organizations in the world with tightened intra-bloc linkage, expansion of relations with other partners, contributing to upholding peace, stability, development in the region and the world.
General Cuong highlighted outcomes in ASEAN building and development and contribution of military and defense cooperation to ASEAN Community building and actualization of ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
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Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong addresses the opening ceremony of ACAMM-23. |
He spoke highly of ASEAN-led mechanisms, including the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM Plus (ADMM+), which have become increasingly prominent in promoting consultations and intra-bloc cooperation, and boosting cooperation with partners in response to common challenges.
He also stressed the maintenance of the centrality of ASEAN in these mechanisms with more attention and engagement of the grouping’s partners. He stressed the grouping’s important role in ensuring peace, stability and development in the region.
General Cuong noted that changing world and region have badly impacted international politics, security and economy and posed many risks and instability. Thanks to basic control of COVID-19, trade-economic, and exchange activities have gradually been resumed but still facing great challenges and risks. Therefore, a peaceful and stable environment as a premise for development and prosperity is the need of each country and the whole region, he said.
According to General Cuong, ACAMM has become an important cooperation mechanism, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding and trust and practical and meaningful cooperation in order to respond to regional common issues, particularly non-traditional security challenges.
He highly appreciated the vital role of ASEAN militaries, including armies, in preventing COVID-19 in each country over the past three years. In this context, ACAMM has maintained its activities in a flexible form, suitable for real conditions with practical topics to share experience, enhance cooperation, and mutual support in overcoming the pandemic.
The chief of the General Staff of the VPA spoke highly of offline meetings and expressed Vietnam’s honor to host ACAMM-23 and related activities, such as the ongoing 30th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meeting (AARM-30), and the 10th ASEAN Sergeant Major Annual Meeting (ASMAM-10).
General Cuong believed that ACAMM-23 would develop highly-feasible approaches that are suitable to the actual capabilities of respective army, so as to connect and maximize their resources, and improve coordination in coping with existing non-traditional security challenges in the region ad enhance cohesion and cooperation for peace. He also expressed his belief that coordination in responding to common challenges will help ASEAN armies to further their cohesion, and trust as a premise for cooperation in other fields for a region of peace, stability, and development.
In his speech, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia underlined the participation and contribution of ASEAN armies to enhancing friendship, understanding, trust in ASEAN and with ASEAN partners, contributing to protecting a peaceful and stable environment in the region and realizing ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
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Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia chairs the meeting. |
He also spoke highly of diverse forms of cooperation activities, especially field exercises in military medicine, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-terrorism, humanitarian mine action, U.N. peacekeeping, saying that these help link participating forces, improve coordination capability, and raise capacity.
The deputy chief of the General Staff of the VPA noted that as a responsible ASEAN member, Vietnamese army has actively involved in the regional efforts to handle common challenges. The VPA will strive for and boost cooperation with other armies of ASEAN member states for a common goal of regional and international peace, stability and development, stated Gen. Nghia.
At the meeting, delegates exchanged views on regional security, particularly non-traditional security challenges that the region is facing such as terrorism, natural disasters, diseases, and cyber security. They confirmed that these challenges are transnational, requiring strengthened cooperation among forces and nations.
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An overview of the meeting |
In order to improve the efficiency of cooperation in the coming time, ASEAN armies agreed to boost intra-bloc solidarity to create consensus, and collective strength to flexibly and actively respond to challenges.
They also consented to promote information sharing, especially in counter-terrorism, cyber security, and sharing of ideas, experience, expertise and resources to raise their capacity and coordination capability, contributing to the maintenance of a peaceful and stable environment in the region and the joint efforts of ASEAN member states in actualizing ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the following years.
On behalf of the host country, Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia thanked ASEAN chiefs of army and other head delegates for their great contribution to the general success of the meeting, demonstrating their solidarity and closeness.
Concluding the meeting, General Nghia handed over ACAMM symbol to Commander of the Royal Thai Army General Narongpan Jittkaewtae.
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Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia (right) hands over the ACAMM symbol to Commander of the Royal Thai Army General Narongpan Jittkaewtae. |
Addressing the handover event, General Narongpan Jittkaewtae highly praised the Vietnam People’s Army’s commitment and efforts to organize ACAMM-23 to intensify the cooperation among ASEAN armies. He affirmed that the Royal Thai Army will collaborate with the armies of other ASEAN member countries to ensure ACAMM-24, slated for next year, a success.
Translated by Mai Huong