At the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Defenceministers of ASEAN member nations and Australia attended an informal meeting onthe sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Retreat in Hanoi on February 19under the chair of Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich.
Speaking at the event, Lich said this was the first time both sides have held ameeting to discuss the regional security situation and promote bilateraldefence ties.
The Vietnamese minister notedthat the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australiaestablished cooperative ties in 1974 and upgraded the relationship to the levelof strategic partnership in 2014. Australia was the first country to form a dialoguepartnership with ASEAN in the fields of politics, economy and specialisedcooperation.
It could be confirmed thatAustralia is a top important partner of ASEAN in various areas and has madeimportant contributions to ASEAN-led cooperation mechanisms in the region, hesaid, adding that ASEAN attaches importance to bolstering ties with Australia,which was specified by an action plan to realise the bilateral strategicpartnership.
On defence cooperation within theASEAN framework, Lich thanked Australia for its contributions over the pastyears, especially via groups of experts within the ASEAN Defence Ministers’Meeting (ADMM) Plus framework.
The Vietnamese minister hopedthat the two sides would discuss ways to step up collaboration in the fields ofshared concern and interest.
Australian Defence Minister LindaReynolds, for her part, said Australia-ASEAN ties are growing to cope withchallenges of the era and reflect ASEAN’s central role.
According to the Australianminister, ASEAN plays an important role in turning the Indo-Pacific into one ofthe most prosperous regions in the world with continuous successes in dialoguepromotion and peaceful settlement of disputes.
At the meeting, ASEAN ministerslauded Australia’s capacity in the fields of training, United Nationspeacekeeping missions, and military medicine, as well as its contributionswithin the ADMM Plus framework, especially its role as co-chair of the ADMMPlus Experts’ Group on Peacekeeping Operations for the 2017-2020 period alongwith Indonesia.
They also expressed full supportfor Australia’s and Brunei’s role as co-chairs of the ADMM Plus Experts’ Groupon Military Medicine for the 2020-2023 period, and welcomed Australia’senhanced cooperation with ASEAN via the ADMM Plus mechanism in the near future.
The ASEAN side also highly valuedAustralia’s initiative to build the 2020 Vision Statement on DefenceCooperation with ASEAN
ASEAN now groups 10 memberstates, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
Speaking at the event, Lich said this was the first time both sides have held ameeting to discuss the regional security situation and promote bilateraldefence ties.
The Vietnamese minister notedthat the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australiaestablished cooperative ties in 1974 and upgraded the relationship to the levelof strategic partnership in 2014. Australia was the first country to form a dialoguepartnership with ASEAN in the fields of politics, economy and specialisedcooperation.
It could be confirmed thatAustralia is a top important partner of ASEAN in various areas and has madeimportant contributions to ASEAN-led cooperation mechanisms in the region, hesaid, adding that ASEAN attaches importance to bolstering ties with Australia,which was specified by an action plan to realise the bilateral strategicpartnership.
On defence cooperation within theASEAN framework, Lich thanked Australia for its contributions over the pastyears, especially via groups of experts within the ASEAN Defence Ministers’Meeting (ADMM) Plus framework.
The Vietnamese minister hopedthat the two sides would discuss ways to step up collaboration in the fields ofshared concern and interest.
Australian Defence Minister LindaReynolds, for her part, said Australia-ASEAN ties are growing to cope withchallenges of the era and reflect ASEAN’s central role.
According to the Australianminister, ASEAN plays an important role in turning the Indo-Pacific into one ofthe most prosperous regions in the world with continuous successes in dialoguepromotion and peaceful settlement of disputes.
At the meeting, ASEAN ministerslauded Australia’s capacity in the fields of training, United Nationspeacekeeping missions, and military medicine, as well as its contributionswithin the ADMM Plus framework, especially its role as co-chair of the ADMMPlus Experts’ Group on Peacekeeping Operations for the 2017-2020 period alongwith Indonesia.
They also expressed full supportfor Australia’s and Brunei’s role as co-chairs of the ADMM Plus Experts’ Groupon Military Medicine for the 2020-2023 period, and welcomed Australia’senhanced cooperation with ASEAN via the ADMM Plus mechanism in the near future.
The ASEAN side also highly valuedAustralia’s initiative to build the 2020 Vision Statement on DefenceCooperation with ASEAN
ASEAN now groups 10 memberstates, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
VNA
