Deputy Minister of National Defence Lieut. Sen. Gen. Hoàng Xuân Chiến addresses the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials' Meeting Plus (ADSOM+) in Jakarta. — VNA/VNS Photo

JAKARTA — A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defence Lieut. Sen. Gen. Hoàng Xuân Chiến attended the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials' Meeting Plus (ADSOM+) in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, with 10 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partner countries taking part.    

In his keynote speech, Deputy Minister Chiến said the region and the world were facing a series of security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional, notably those concerning maritime security. These challenges were occurring in many places and cause severe consequences that go beyond the capacity of a single nation to handle, thus requiring the international community to join hands to address them.  

About maritime security, he stressed that the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) is a vital maritime route for global and regional trade so peace, stability and security in the region are of utmost importance.    

"Việt Nam always follows the principle of settling disputes and differences in the East Sea through peaceful means, based on respect for independence, sovereignty, and legitimate interests of nations, and compliance with international law," he said.

He underlined the significance of strengthening collective efforts to ensure the maintenance of international law and principles in international relations, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). He also emphasised the need to promptly conclude negotiations and sign an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in line with international law.

ASEAN's defence cooperation with its partners has been growing and becoming stronger, according to the deputy minister. He heightened the importance of building trust, goodwill, transparency and working together to address common challenges in order to build a robust ASEAN community and uphold ASEAN's central role.          

On the sidelines of the ADSOM and ADSOM+, Chiến held bilateral meetings with heads of delegations of the host country Indonesia, Japan and Australia. He also met bilaterally with heads of delegations of China, Russia, India, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia. These meetings aimed to discuss and promote the implementation of important defence-related matters, especially high-level exchange activities, policy dialogues, and defence strategy.

The discussions covered various topics, including important events related to defence and security, such as multilateral and bilateral forums and conferences. The bilateral meetings and engagements played a significant role in enhancing political trust, goodwill and cooperation between Việt Nam and its partners in an effective and practical manner. — VNS