Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang (second from right) and other officials at the 9th ADMM Plus in Siem Reap on November 23 (Photo: VNA) The event was attended by defence ministers and officialsfrom member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and partnercountries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, NewZealand, Russia, and the US.
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Minister of National Defence General PhanVan Giang.
Prior to the opening of the 9th ADMM Plus, CambodianPrime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen delivered a speech in which he stressedthat amid growing uncertainties in the global economic and security situation, ADMM is playing an increasingly important role in promoting mutualunderstanding through dialogue based on respect, practical cooperation, andcapacity building.
He said the world is now in an important point of time whenmany complex crises are posing unprecedented threats to the foundation of peace,stability, and progress in many countries around the world. To overcome thosecrises, ASEAN is exerting efforts to maintain dialogue and build up trust by providinga safe, open, and constructive foundation; and promoting open, inclusive, andrules-based multilateralism is the core goal of the bloc. In these efforts, ithas strongly committed to maintaining its centrality and unity.
At least five factors are needed to realise harmonioussecurity in the region, namely ASEAN’s centrality; an open, inclusive, andrules-based regional security architecture; people-centred and trust-based securityand defence cooperation; comprehensive security; and cooperation security,according to the Cambodian leader.
In his opening speech at the 9th ADMM Plus,Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence General Tea Banh, who isalso Chair of ADMM Plus, emphasised the role of multilateral cooperationmechanisms, together with respect for international law, self-restraint, and peacefulsolutions, which are the most righteous choice to deal with any risk.
Since its inception, ADMM Plus has developed into themain multilateral defence cooperation mechanism to promote regional peace,stability, and prosperity on the basis of the ASEAN consensus, unity and centralityprinciple.
As Chair of ADMM, ADMM Plus, and related meetings thisyear, the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence is strongly committed to theprinciples on peaceful and equitable cooperation, ASEAN’s centrality, and commonefforts to help resolve all latent challenges in the region so as to guaranteepeace, harmony, and comprehensive partnership for harmonious security andsecurity in the region, he added./.
VNA
