An overview of the meeting. (Photo: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) - The 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) kicked off on June 22 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, under the chair of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Banh.
Defence Minister Gen. Phan Van Giang is leading a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam to the meeting which brings together defence ministers or representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi.
In his opening speech, Tea Banh said it was the first ADMM held in person after over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He underscored the need for ASEAN to maintain strength and resilience, in the context of facing many challenges such as competition between major powers, transnational crime, terrorism, security, climate change and pandemics, saying the meeting is an effective forum for practical cooperation in the region to tackle emerging challenges.
Since their inception, ADMM and ADMM Plus have always played an important role in consulting and promoting defence cooperation at the highest level in the region with the key objective being strengthening trust through transparency and openness, he said.
Defence Minister Phan Van Giang led a Vietnamese delegation of Vietnam to attend the 16th ADMM. (Photo:VNA) Addressing the event, Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang said Vietnam’s support for Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair 2022, adding that the successful organisation of the ADMM and ADMM Plus meetings shows solidarity and unity within ASEAN.
On the sidelines of the 16th ADMM, the defence ministers of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia discussed measures to strengthen solidarity, maintain and promote the traditional friendship between the three countries in general and defence cooperation in particular./.
