Vietnam to host first ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus in October

Vietnam will host the first ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in the capital city Hanoi on Oct. 12 this year, said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh here at a press conference on Thursday.

The meeting is expected to draw defense ministers from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and eight ASEAN dialogue partners including Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States, and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, said Vinh.

Vinh said that the meeting marks a new development in the cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners to deal with increasingly complicated and transnational security issues. It is aimed at building trust and confidence among participating countries.

The conference takes place in the context that peace and development has become a tendency and cross-border non-traditional challenges are emerging which a single country cannot solve, he said.

During the upcoming meeting, the defense ministers are expected to discuss a variety of issues including humanitarian aid, disaster relief, maritime security, counter-terrorism, and peace- keeping operations.

Vietnam, as the host country for the meeting and ASEAN Chair this year, wants to discuss a new regional security structure and cooperation to address non-traditional challenges, according to Vinh.

To prepare for the meeting, Vietnam has held several meetings among ASEAN senior defense officials and ASEAN defense ministers to prepare the agenda and program activities for the first ADMM- Plus, Vinh said.

Vietnamese officials will also visit ASEAN partners like China, Russia and the United States for consultations about the issues related to the meeting, he said.

The ADMM-Plus is a unique forum as it is a place where defense ministers from big and small, rich and poor countries and countries with different ideologies sit together and talk about peace, cooperation and development, said Vinh.

The meeting is of symbolic and historical significance. A Joint Declaration to be issued at the end of the meeting will be of great importance, reflecting the political will and commitments for practical cooperation of defense ministers from participating countries for peace, stability and development in the region and the interests of each country, said Vinh.

Source: Xinhua