Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of PublicSecurity Gen. To Lam led a Vietnamese high-ranking delegation to attend thefirst ASEAN – Russia securityconsultation conference, which was held online on June 28.

The event saw the participation of Gen. Patrushev Nikolay Platonovich,Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, ASEAN DeputySecretary-General Robert Matheus Michael Tene and heads of high-level securitydelegations from ASEAN member countries.

Participants discussed and consulted on measures to maintain politicalstability and ensure security in the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific regions as ASEANand Russia are facing difficulties and challenges for security and development.

Speakingat the event, Lam highlighted the significance of the conference, saying that itaimed to promote and deepen the ASEAN - Russia strategic partnership.

He emphasised the need to uphold the responsibility to make this initiative morepractical.

The minister urged regional countries to strengthen trust-building measures,establish effective dialogue channels for exchanging views, promptly resolvedisagreements, and settle disputes by peaceful measures in order to promote win-wincooperation and sustainable socio-economic development.

Lam stressed the necessity to enhance synchronous coordination among lawenforcement agencies of regional countries in sharing information and workingexperience, and take more measures to prevent, detect and combat emergingcrimes.

In order to further deepen the ASEAN-Russia cooperation, Vietnam proposed thetwo sides to strengthen cooperation within the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)framework to strengthen trust and develop the ASEAN – Russia Strategic Partnershippractically and comprehensively.

Lam called for stronger cooperation in traditional security issues and newsecurity challenges such as preventing terrorism, organised crime,transnational crime, and hi-tech crime through available mechanisms and capacitybuilding programmes for law enforcement personnel.

Attentionshould also be paid to considering the possibility of expanding professionalinformation sharing between law enforcement agencies of the two sides, anddeveloping a mechanism to coordinate ASEAN-Russia relations at the ministeriallevel in combating terrorism and organised and transnational crimes, theminister said.

The twosides need to further promote cooperation in combating illegal activities atsea such as terrorism, piracy, armed attacks on ships and boats by elevatingcooperation in the framework of mechanisms that ASEAN plays a leading role,including the ARF, the East AsiaSummit (EAS), ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and ExpandedASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), Lam said.

He called for global and regional cooperation to ensure security at sea,freedom of navigation and overflight, freedom of commerce, self-restraint, and nouse or threat to use force, and settle disputes by peaceful solutions in accordance with basicprinciples of international law set forth in the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), relevant standards and recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Lam affirmed that as the rotating Chair of ASEAN in 2020 and a non-permanentmember of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, Vietnam is committedto contributing to promoting dialogue, cooperation and trust-building processeschaired by ASEAN, and always ready to work closely with countries in theAsia-Pacific region and other ASEAN states for a secure, peaceful and stableenvironment, and sustainable socio-economic development.

Vietnambelieves that ASEAN member countries and Russia will always be consistent withthe policy of ensuring peace and stability in the region, he said./.