Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm spoke at the first ASEAN-Russia security consultation on Monday. — Photo from the Ministry of Public Security

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's top security official has called for ASEAN and Russia to deepen their security cooperation.

Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Gen. Tô Lâm led a high-ranking delegation to attend the first ASEAN – Russia security consultation conference, which was held online on Monday.

The event was also attended by General Patrushev Nikolay Platonovich, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Robert Matheus Michael Tene and heads of high-level security delegations from ASEAN countries.

Participants discussed measures to maintain political stability and ensure security in the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific regions as ASEAN and Russia are facing difficulties for security and development.

Speaking at the event, Lâm highlighted the significance of the conference, saying it aimed to deepen the ASEAN - Russia strategic partnership.

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

Lâm stressed the need to enhance synchronous coordination among law enforcement agencies of regional countries in sharing information and working experience, and take more measures to prevent, detect and combat emerging crimes.

To deepen ASEAN-Russia cooperation, Việt Nam proposed the two sides strengthen cooperation within the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) framework to strengthen trust and develop the ASEAN – Russia Strategic Partnership.

Lâm called for stronger cooperation in traditional security issues and new security challenges such as preventing terrorism, organised crime, transnational crime, and high-tech crime through available mechanisms and capacity building programmes for law enforcement personnel.

Attention should also be paid to expanding professional information sharing between law enforcement agencies of the two sides, and developing a mechanism to coordinate ASEAN-Russia relations at the ministerial level in combating terrorism and organised and transnational crimes, the minister said.

The two sides need to promote cooperation in combating illegal activities at sea like terrorism, piracy, armed attacks on ships and boats by elevating cooperation in the framework of mechanisms that ASEAN plays a leading role, including the ARF, the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), Lâm said.

He called for global and regional cooperation to ensure security at sea, freedom of navigation and overflight, freedom of commerce, self-restraint, and no use or threat to use force, and settle disputes by peaceful solutions in accordance with basic principles of international law set forth in the 1982 United 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).

Lâm said that as the rotating Chair of ASEAN in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, Việt Nam is committed to contributing to promoting dialogue, cooperation and trust-building processes chaired by ASEAN, and is ready to work closely with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and other ASEAN states for a secure, peaceful and stable environment, as well as sustainable socio-economic development.

Việt Nam believes ASEAN member countries and Russia will always be consistent with the policy of ensuring peace and stability in the region, he said. — VNS