Delegates at the event. Photo: VNA
ADMM and ADMM+ help ASEAN member countries and their dialogue partners promote mutual trust and understanding through dialogue, secure regional peace and stability through defense and security cooperation to deal with non-traditional security threats, and contribute to the realization of the ASEAN Regional Forum Security Policy Conference (ASPC).
Actually, the primary target of ADMM and ADMM+ is to maintain peace, stability, sustainable development and prosperity in Southeast Asia for the sake of each ASEAN member country.
The establishment of ADMM was initiated at the 10th ASEAN Summit in Laos in 2004 with the aim of boosting integration of ASEAN and addressing security challenges in the region and all over the world as well, prior to the formation of the ASEAN Community.
In 2006, ASEAN member countries successfully held the first ADMM in Malaysia, representing a milestone in the history of ASEAN and officially opening a defense mechanism in the region.
ADMM is the highest level of defense cooperation mechanism within ASEAN. As part of ASPC, ADMM creates frameworks for defense ministerial dialogues and consultations to discuss strategies and defense-security issues and to pave the way for practical cooperation among armed forces of regional countries.
Consistent with the ADMM guiding principles of an open and outward looking organization, the second ADMM in Singapore in 2007 adopted the Concept Paper to establish the ADMM+, with the composition of ten ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners of China, Russia, the US, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Vietnam, an active and responsible member in ASEAN, has consistently made contributions to the development of ASPC in general and military-defense cooperation in ASEAN in particular. For example, as the Chair of ASEAN in 2010, Vietnam successfully hosted the fourth ADMM. Vietnam made efforts for the establishment of ADMM+ by initiating two concept papers, including “ADMM+: Modalities and Procedures,” and run the first ADMM+. At the event, participating defense ministers agreed on five areas of practical cooperation, namely maritime security, peacekeeping operations, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief and military medicine.
At the second ADMM+ in Brunei in 2013, following a suggestion of Vietnam, the summit passed the sixth priority area of humanitarian mine action.
These commitments of strengthening defense cooperation among ASEAN member countries towards peace and stability in the region, based on principles of equality, respect, and international law ensure a bright future of ADMM and ADMM+. This process has borne the stamp of Vietnam, among others.
Translated by Van Hieu