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Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh chairs the meeting |
The meeting were attended virtually by Heads of ADSOM+ of ASEAN member states, representatives from ASEAN’s eight partners including Russia, China, the United States of America, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, and ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Hoang Anh Tuan, while head of Vietnam’s ADSOM+ as well as defense attachés of ASEAN member nations and the bloc’s partners to Vietnam were present at the hub in Hanoi.
Addressing the event, General Vinh emphasized that defense cooperation has importantly contributed to the combat against COVID-19 of ASEAN members and its partners.
He highly valued the presence of all delegates despite different time zones. He also spoke highly of the outcomes of the ADSOM+ Working Group which was held on November 18.
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Delegates at the hub in Hanoi |
The Vietnamese senior official stressed that amid COVID-19, regional defense cooperation has still been maintained thanks to the high resolve of ASEAN member states and its partners. He urged ASEAN member states to exert all-out efforts to enhance defense cooperation, keep on implementing agreed contents, and boost cooperation in COVID-19 prevention and control.
During the meeting, delegates highly applauded the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense for hosting ASEAN-led military-defense conferences this year, including this ADSOM+ amidst COVID-19, thereby maintaining a momentum for defense cooperation in the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM Plus.
General Natt Intracharoen, Permanent Secretary of the Defense Ministry of Thailand thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, as the Chair of ADMM and ADMM+, for highlighting the importance of regional defense cooperation in controlling COVID-19. Meanwhile, Kim Sangjin, Head of the International Policy Bureau under the RoK’s Ministry of National Defense emphasized the timely organization of the ADSOM+ to discuss issues related to COVID-19 and defense cooperation in the framework of ADMM+.
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All delegates participate in the virtual meeting despite different time zones |
For his part, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Brunei Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar bin Haji Ma’awiah highly valued the meeting, saying that it was an active approach to promoting defense cooperation among ASEAN member states and the bloc’s partners.
At the meeting, delegates were also updated on intra-bloc cooperation, the outcomes of the virtual ADSOM+ WG on November 18, and shared views on regional and global issues amid COVID-19. They also agreed on the 2021-2023 working plan of ADMM+ Experts’ Working Group and discussed the draft joint declaration of the upcoming seventh ADMM+ and agenda for this meeting.
Translated by Mai Huong