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Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Truong Thang leading the Vietnamese delegation to join the event |
Deputy Minister of National Defense of Viet Nam Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Truong Thang made the statement while attending the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials' Meeting-Plus (ADSOM+) which was held virtually on August 27 under the chair of Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning of the Philippine Department of National Defense Ignacio B. Madriaga and attended by representatives of ASEAN member states, its dialogue partners (Russia, China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, and the ASEAN Secretariat.
In his remarks at the event, the Vietnamese deputy defense minister said that ASEAN-led mechanisms continued to demonstrate their value in promoting dialogue, building trust, fostering substantive cooperation and strengthening regional connectivity. Since its establishment, the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM+) has remained an open and inclusive mechanism through which countries with legitimate interests can contribute to peace, stability, and development.
He said the theme of the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship 2026, “Navigating Our Future Together,” conveyed a message of shared responsibility for the region’s common future. In that spirit, Viet Nam wishes to continue making practical contributions together with other countries.
The Vietnamese representative also reaffirmed that Viet Nam steadfastly pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and multilateralization and diversification of external relations, alongside its "Four No's" defense policy that aims at peace and self-defense.
Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Truong Thang proposed three key priorities of strengthening strategic trust, solidarity, and ASEAN centrality; enhancing the capacity to address emerging security challenges through cooperation in digital transformation, innovation, and defense industry, as well as knowledge sharing, high-quality human resource training, research and mastery of new technologies; and reaffirming a shared commitment to action and responsibility for regional peace and stability, while further leveraging the role of the ADMM, ADMM+ and ADMM+ Experts’ Working Groups in capacity building, experience sharing and coordinated action.
On maritime security, Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Truong Thang said Viet Nam hopes countries will support ASEAN’s stance of resolving all differences by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon finalizing an effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) consistent with international law.
On this occasion, he announced that the third Viet Nam Defense Expo will be held in Hanoi at the end of 2026. The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense expressed its appreciation for the support of participating countries during the previous two editions and looked forward to welcoming leaders of defense ministries and armed forces, as well as leading defense industry corporations, to the upcoming event.
In his opening remarks, the Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning of the Philippine Department of National Defense Ignacio B.Madriaga thanked ASEAN member states, the dialogue partners and the ASEAN Secretariat for their full participation and strong support for the Philippines as ASEAN Chair in 2026. He noted that since its establishment in 2010, ADMM+ has achieved significant progress in promoting substantive defense cooperation, particularly through its Experts’ Working Groups, and expressed confidence that the virtual ADSOM+ would yield positive results.
At the meeting, heads of delegation heard a report on the outcomes of the ADSOM+ Working Group Meeting, received updates on the implementation of the ADMM+ Experts’ Working Groups’ work plans for 2024–2027, and were briefed by the ASEAN Secretariat on recent developments within ASEAN. The meeting also considered a draft ADMM+ thematic joint statement on youth, peace and security, discussed preparations for the 13th ADMM+, and exchanged views on global and regional security issues.
Translated by Tran Hoai