The meeting took place within the Vietnamese defense leader’s trip to Indonesia to attend the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials' Meeting (ADSOM) and ADSOM Plus (ADSOM+).
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and Lt. Gen. Donny Ermawan at the meeting |
At the meeting, the two sides affirmed the fine bilateral friendship between the two countries which are members of ASEAN and share sea border. Over the past years, the two sides have striven to develop the relationship in a comprehensive, substantial, and effective manner. One of the efforts was the signing of the agreement on the demarcation of the boundaries of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the two countries during the visit of the Vietnamese State President to Indonesia in December, 2022, which was an important milestone in the bilateral relationship, creating foundation to foster cooperation between maritime forces, including the navies and coast guards.
The two sides highlighted that the bilateral defense cooperation has seen positive developments, actively contributing to strengthening the Vietnam - Indonesia relations in such fields as exchange of delegations, maintenance of defense policy dialogue mechanism at the deputy defense minister level, collaboration between naval and coast guard forces, and cooperation in training.
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An overview of the meeting |
Gen. Chien suggested the two sides continue to cooperate to make thorough preparations for the official Indonesia visit of the Vietnamese Defense Minister and his attendance at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and the deputy defense minister level Defense Policy Dialogue in Vietnam in October, 2023. The Vietnamese defense leader wished that the two sides would maintain and promote available cooperation fields and expand collaboration in such fields of the two sides’ potential and demand as defense industry, military medicine, and training; accelerate the signing of an agreement on joint patrol to further strengthen cooperation between the naval forces of the two countries. He also hoped that maritime law enforcement forces of the two countries would humanely handle fishermen’s violations and support Vietnam’s efforts in removing the European Union’s “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood exports.
Gen. Chien emphasized that Vietnam always treasures the multilateral cooperation, especially within the ASEAN. He affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense supports the Indonesian Defense Ministry’s role as ASEAN Chair in 2023 and believed that the country’s successful organization of military and defense conferences in 2023 would contribute to strengthening solidarity, consensus, and centrality of ASEAN.
Lt. Gen. Ermawan thanked the Vietnamese Defense Ministry for supporting and actively participating in events hosted by the Indonesian Defense Ministry and the country’s initiatives in its ASEAN Chairmanship Year.
Translated by Tran Hoai