ASEAN member countries promote practical defence cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) - The ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Working Group (ADSOM WG) was held via video conference on November 16 and aimed at promoting defence cooperation among ASEAN member states.

The meeting was held under the Chair of Lieutenant General Vu Chien Thang, Director of the Defence Ministry’s Foreign Relations Department and head of Vietnam’s ADSOM WG.

ADSOM WG heads and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat were updated on the ASEAN defence cooperation process since the last online meeting in May, and discussed documents and the new-standard operating process of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) as well as draft joint statements of the 14th ADMM and the seventh ADMM Plus, scheduled to go online in December.

Preparation work for ADSOM on November 17, ADSOM Plus WG on November 18, and ADSOM Plus on November 19 was also tabled at the meeting.

Expressing an interest in strengthening cooperation between defence experts in the field of chemistry, the Singaporean representative recommended ASEAN member states create an effective channel to stand ready for emergency circumstances like COVID-19.

The representative said that along with ongoing studies of a COVID-19 vaccine, Singapore organised an online conference on infectious diseases in June and a workshop to improve testing capacity and specimen transport in November, attracting the participation of biology and chemistry experts from ASEAN member states.

Meanwhile, the Thai representative said Thailand held a conference in August on increasing the role of ASEAN defence organisations in supporting border management with the participation of the representatives from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, ASEAN defence ministries, and ASEAN defence attaches in Bangkok.

The representative said it is necessary to understand each other’s border management models in order to cooperate and share experience in border protection and transnational crime prevention./.