Delegates from ASEAN countries pose for a group photo. — Photo qdnd.vn

THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — ASEAN defence cooperation, including the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+), will be enhanced extensively and intensively in a practical manner, focusing on new areas and linkages with other cooperation mechanisms, said Associate Professor Vũ Cương Quyết, head of Việt Nam's National Strategic Institute.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions annual Meeting (NADI) in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế on Wednesday after one and a half working days.

He said the meeting heard a presentation from one expert and other discussion speeches from 13 delegates on strengthening ASEAN’s capacity and resilience in the ADMM+ amid global geopolitical challenges.

Participants agreed that Southeast Asia, as a geographical region, continues to be a dynamic development area, a bright spot in economic development.

In the context of the world’s economy falling into crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic, the region increasingly attracts the attention of powers and international power centres. ASEAN, as a regional organisation, plays a leading role in regional cooperation mechanisms at many different levels, including the ADMM+, he said.

Southeast Asia has also faced various traditional and non-traditional security challenges, especially the strategic competition between powers and non-traditional security challenges with new characteristics. These factors might cause risks and instability in the region, he said.

He said that in recent years, despite many difficulties, ASEAN defence cooperation has achieved many results, contributing to building trust, strengthening solidarity, and the central role of the bloc in regional cooperation mechanisms.

Facing the impacts of global geopolitical fluctuations and drawing from both successful and unsuccessful experiences over the past 13 years, ASEAN is required to constantly strengthen its capacity and self-reliance to promote its central role and improve the effectiveness of ADMM+ cooperation for the security and interests of each country, making practical contributions to peace and stability in the region and the world, he said. — VNS