( Bqp.vn ) – On September 25, in Vientiane (Laos), the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials Meeting (ADSOM) took place with the participation of 10 ASEAN member countries, the ASEAN Secretariat and Timor Leste, chaired by the Head of the Lao Delegation – the country assuming the position of ASEAN Chair. Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense , Head of the Vietnamese Delegation attended the conference.
Conference scene.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Lieutenant General Som-phon Mit-ta-phon, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army, Head of the Lao delegation, highly appreciated the support of ASEAN member countries for Laos as Chair in 2024; at the same time, he said that the general theme of 2024 "ASEAN: Strengthening Connectivity and Resilience" as well as the theme of Laos' ADMM and ADMM+ Chair in 2024: "ASEAN: Together for Peace , Security and Resilience" emphasize Laos' commitment to promoting peace and security in the region. This theme also reflects the common desire of the countries to be united, united and cooperate to develop together towards building the ASEAN Community, joining hands to effectively respond to existing and potential security challenges facing the ASEAN region.
Lieutenant General Som-phon Mitt-ta-phon chaired the conference.
At the conference, the Heads of ASEAN delegations shared with Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar about the losses caused by Typhoon Yagi, hoping that the countries will soon overcome the consequences of this historic storm.
The conference heard reports on the results of the ASEAN Senior Defense Officials' Working Group (ADSOM WG), the 17th Annual Meeting of the Network of ASEAN Defense and Security Institutes (NADI-17) and the 21st ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Meeting (ACDFM-21); updated progress and assessed ASEAN defense cooperation...
Currently, Vietnam is undertaking the initiative of Placing the ASEAN Flag next to the national flag at military units of ASEAN member countries participating in UN peacekeeping operations. In May 2023, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense hosted a workshop to implement the guidelines for this initiative.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien speaks at the conference.
Regarding the ASEAN Military/Defense Intelligence Community (AMIC) initiative proposed by Vietnam and approved at the ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Meeting (ACDFM), speaking at the conference, Head of the Vietnam ADSOM Delegation - Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that Vietnam will organize the first ASEAN Military/Defense Intelligence Community Leaders' Conference in Hanoi in November 2024 to specifically implement the above initiative; hoping that ASEAN countries will support participation in this conference.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien took a photo with members of the Vietnamese delegation attending the conference.
At the conference, the Heads of the ASEAN delegations also approved and agreed to submit to the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) new initiative documents including: i) Draft Document on Procedures for Observers of the ADMM+ Expert Groups (proposed by Laos, the Philippines, and Singapore), agreeing to assign the Working Group to study and advise on the acceptance of observers; ii) Draft Document on Strategy “ADMM and ADMM+ ready for the future”, iii) Draft Document on Concept of the Workshop on Maritime Cooperation and Connectivity – Project to implement the Concept of the ASEAN Perspective on the Indo-Pacific from a Defense Perspective (proposed by Indonesia); iv) Draft Appendix to the Concept of the Harmonization of ADMM and ADMM+ Initiatives in which Vietnam plays the role of a focal point in the field of defense education and training.
The conference also reached consensus on the draft ADMM Joint Statement and agreed to add the Standard Operating Procedures of the ASEAN Military Standing Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief to the appendix of Chapter VI of the Standard Operating Procedures on contingency arrangements and coordination of disaster relief and emergency response activities in the region; discussed the contents of preparations for the ADSOM+, ADMM and ADMM+ Conferences, as well as the Observer program for the 2024-2027 cycle.
The heads of delegations attending the conference took a group photo.
At the end of the Conference, the Head of ADSOM Laos highly appreciated the Conference's consensus on many important fields and issues, reflecting the spirit of solidarity and unity of ASEAN countries, which is of great significance in realizing the contents and goals of cooperation within the framework of ADMM and ADMM+, contributing to promoting peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien presented and Senior Lieutenant General Vong-kham Phom-ma-con at the meeting.
On the sidelines of the ADSOM conference, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien had bilateral meetings with Senior Lieutenant General Vongkham Phommacon, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Laos, Lieutenant General Somphon Mittaphon, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army, Head of the Lao delegation, and bilateral meetings with Heads of delegations from Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
At the meeting with Senior Lieutenant General Vong-kham Phom-ma-con, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Senior Lieutenant General Vong-kham Phom-ma-con shared about the heavy damage caused by Typhoon Yagi to the two countries; emphasizing that currently, the Army is one of the pioneering forces in overcoming the consequences of the storm, supporting people to stabilize their lives.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien talks with Senior Lieutenant General Vong-kham Phom-ma-con at the meeting.
The two sides highly appreciated the results of defense cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in recent times, which have actively contributed to maintaining peace, stability and development in each country, consolidating and further tightening the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, two States and two Armies of Vietnam and Laos.
In the coming time, the two sides agreed to continue to closely coordinate, fully and effectively implement the contents of the 2024 Cooperation Plan. In particular, focusing on areas such as increasing contacts and delegation exchanges at all levels; continuing to effectively maintain current bilateral defense cooperation mechanisms such as the Deputy Ministerial Defense Policy Dialogue, cooperation between border protection forces; training and coaching of cadres; promoting cooperation in Party work, political work, etc.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Senior Lieutenant General Vong-kham Phom-ma-con also discussed the preparation for the 2nd Vietnam - Laos Border Friendship Exchange, scheduled to take place in October 2024.
Emphasizing that this is an important political event, contributing to promoting cooperation between border protection forces, people-to-people exchanges, and twinning on the border, helping the people of Vietnam and Laos have more opportunities for cultural exchange, economic cooperation, sharing production experiences, and strengthening solidarity and friendship, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Senior Lieutenant General Vong-kham Phom-ma also affirmed that the Ministry of National Defense, local leaders and people on both sides of the border where the exchange takes place are actively preparing carefully to ensure the success of the Exchange.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that from September 30 to October 1, 2024, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense will conduct inspections and reviews of the preparation work for the Exchange, before the two sides conduct inspections and rehearsals before organizing the Exchange; hoping that the Lao Ministry of National Defense will continue to pay attention and direct Lao agencies and units to overcome difficulties caused by the recent Typhoon Yagi; and do a good job of preparing for the Exchange.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien met with Lieutenant General Som-phon Mitt-ta-phon.
Previously, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien had a bilateral meeting with Lieutenant General Somphon Mittaphon, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army, Head of the Lao delegation to discuss promoting and implementing important contents related to bilateral defense relations; important events related to defense and security such as multilateral and bilateral forums and conferences.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien affirmed that Vietnam fully supports Laos in successfully assuming the role of ASEAN Chair 2024 and will send a delegation to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting and the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus at the highest level.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien talks with the Head of the Singaporean Delegation.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien talks with the Head of the Philippine Delegation.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien talks with the Head of the Indonesian Delegation.
Also on the sidelines of the ADSOM Conference, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien had bilateral meetings with the Heads of Delegations from Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia to promote and implement bilateral defense cooperation contents; coordinate to strengthen solidarity, unity, and cooperation within ASEAN and promote ASEAN's central role in the region as well as in the world. The bilateral meetings and contacts have contributed to enhancing political trust, goodwill in cooperation, promoting trust building, and bringing the defense relations between Vietnam and its partners increasingly deeper, more substantial, effective, and practical.
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