Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called on ASEAN to boost military cooperation within itself, as well as with outside partners, to cope with non-traditional security challenges, for common development.

The PM made the appeal while receiving in Hanoi on Mar. 25 delegates to the 7th ASEAN Chief of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM-7), which was held earlier in Hanoi the same day.

The Vietnamese government leader praised the results of the conference, describing them as active contributions to the building of an ASEAN Community in 2015.

He emphasised that on the way towards building an ASEAN Community, Southeast Asia is facing non-traditional and trans-national security challenges, ranging from terrorist threats, piracy and disease to the impacts of climate change. No one nation can solve these threats alone – they can only be effectively coped with through close cooperation and coordination among regional nations and the international community.

He affirmed that the successes of the ACDFIM, ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting and the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting would effectively contribute to building peace and stability in the region and the world.

On behalf of ASEAN military leaders Major General Haji Aminudin Isan, Commander of the Royal Armed Forces of Brunei, the host country for the ACDFIM-8, expressed his hope that the results of the ACDFIM-7 would be a strong foundation for developing cooperation among ASEAN members in the future./.