Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien extended his congratulations to Indonesia for its successful role as the ASEAN Chair in 2023. He also highly appreciated the Indonesian National Armed Force for their successful organization of the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in September 2023. He believed that the upcoming ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense in November would make more significant contribution to bolstering ASEAN's unity and its central role in the regional security architecture.
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Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (right) welcomes Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto. |
The Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister reaffirmed Vietnam's steadfast adherence to its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, multilateral engagement, and diversification of international relationships. He also emphasized Vietnam's defense policy, characterized by the "four no's" principle: No military alliances, no siding with one country against another, no foreign military bases or use of the Vietnamese territory to oppose other countries, and no use of force or threat to use force in international relations.
Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto, in turn, underscored the importance of defense cooperation as a cornerstone of the strategic partnership between the two nations. He pledged to strengthen mutually beneficial defense relations in line with the significant potential of both countries.
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An overview of the dialogue |
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The Vietnamese side at the dialogue |
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The Indonesian side at the dialogue |
Both sides acknowledged the fruitful outcomes of their bilateral defense cooperation, which have been built upon the agreements reached during the second dialogue in October 2021, which is evident through high-level delegation exchanges, maintenance of consultation and dialogue mechanisms, arms and service cooperation, training, and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially those under ASEAN's leadership.
The Vietnamese side lauded the signing of agreements, such as the one on joint training procedures between the navies in December 2021 and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in maritime security and safety between the coast guard forces in December 2022. These agreements serve as the basis for enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement cooperation at sea.
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Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto sign the minutes of the Third Vietnam-Indonesia Defense Policy Dialogue. |
Both sides reiterated their commitment to further strengthening defense cooperation to advance their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Additionally, the two parties agreed to intensify mutual support at multilateral forums and mechanisms, with a particular focus on those led by ASEAN, and to back the other's hosted events. They also exchanged views on global and regional issues of mutual concern and praised the role of ASEAN and its mechanisms, affirming their active contribution to ASEAN's unity and central role in the regional security architecture.
They emphasized the importance of freedom, security, and safety of navigation and overflight in the East Sea (South China Sea) and underlined the need to strengthen commitments and the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and to work toward the early conclusion of negotiations and the signing of a practical and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.
Translated by Trung Thanh