Vietnam plays core, leading role in ASEAN growth

An art performance at the ASEAN Children Festival in 2017 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Since Vietnam joined the “commonhouse” of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on July 28, 1995, the country has always affirmed its core andleading role in the grouping and made contributions to the growth of theassociation.

With a positive, active and responsible spirit, Vietnam hasjoined hands with other members of the association in building a strong ASEANCommunity, maintaining the solidarity, unity of the grouping and promoted itscentral role for peace, stability, cooperation and development of the region.

The engagement in ASEAN has become an important part ofVietnam’s external policy in the new period, and a strategic focus of the country’smultilateral diplomacy.

Promoting its core role in strengthening solidarity and unity among the ASEAN,right after joining the association, Vietnam worked hard for the admission ofLaos, Myanmar (1997) and Cambodia (1999) to the grouping. The effortscontributed to realising the idea of an ASEAN having all the 10 regional countries asmembers, creating a new transformation for ASEAN and the regional situation atthat time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second, left) and ASEAN leaders meet US President Joe Biden during the US-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington D.C on May 12, 2022 (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam has made important contributions in defining thedevelopment goals and orientations as well as the decision-making process formany important issues of the association, including the ASEAN Vision 2020,ASEAN Charter, ASEAN Community Vision 2025, ASEAN Master Plans on communitybuilding, and roadmaps for ASEAN Community, as well as plans for particularpillar of the ASEAN Community and many other important agreements, especiallythose on connectivity and the narrowing of development gaps.

Along with successfully performing the role of the ASEAN Chair in 2010 and 2020 andorganising many ASEAN Summits, Vietnam has chaired many high-level meetings andconferences of ASEAN in intra-bloc, regional and international cooperationareas. The country has left a strong imprint on many ASEAN cooperationmechanisms.

In the context of many complicated changes in the world andthe region, Vietnam has engaged in the process of building principles and shapingthe "rules of the game" in the region, together with ASEAN to ensurepeace, security and stability and promote dialogue and cooperation.

Vietnam promoted the development of the Treaty of Amity andCooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) into a set of rules for relations amongASEAN countries as well as countries outside the region. It alsoparticipated and actively contributed to the development and adoption of theASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), helping form the common stance ofASEAN and promoting cooperation on the basis of coherence with ASEAN's corevalues, principles and centrality.

Participants at the ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop in 2023 (Photo: VNA)

Together with other ASEAN members, Vietnam has actively andpositively built the ASEAN Community across all pillars from politics, economyto socio-culture, while giving the highest priority to strengthening ASEANconnectivity and expanding the groupings’ relations with partners across thenation. Through ASEAN cooperation, Vietnam has proved its high sense ofresponsibility to the ASEAN Community, the region and the world.

Vietnam has also made many important contributions to the expanding andpromoting cooperation between ASEAN and partners. As the ASEAN Chair in 2010,Vietnam worked to expand the East Asia Summit with the participation of Russiaand the US.

Following Vietnam’s initiative, the SEAN Defence Ministers'Meeting Plus (ADMM ) was formed, gathering ASEAN and partners. Vietnam alsosuccessfully took the role of the coordinator for the ASEAN-China relations (inthe 2009-2012 period), the ASEAN-EU relations (2012-2015),ASEAN-India relations (2015-2018), and ASEAN-Japan relations (2018-2021).

Participating in ASEAN has always been one of the toppriorities in Vietnam’s external policy. While enjoying benefits brought about bythe ASEAN Community, Vietnam will continue to give its ideas to join hands withother member in building the community. A strong and self-reliant ASEANCommunity will be a solid support for Vietnam in overcoming difficulties and challengesin the time to come.

Founded on August 8,1967, the ASEAN has been the startingpoint for an intensive connection process for peace, stability and developmentin Southeast Asia.

A dialogue of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) at the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta (Photo: VNA)

From five initialmembers, the association has gathered 10 members of Brunei, Cambodia,Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, andVietnam. A roadmap for the admission of Timor-Leste as an official member ofthe grouping has also been adopted.

Over the past 56years, the association has left many important hallmarks in the regionalcooperation and connection process, while gaining outstanding achievements.

ASEAN members havealways supported each other for common development in all fields, turning SoutheastAsia into a region of cooperation, development, trust and global integration.

Over the years,ASEAN has been a model for successful regional connectivity.

ASEAN's most important success during the past 56 years hasbeen to ensure peace and stability in Southeast Asia. All member states havebuilt a better and better cooperative relationship. Differences among members,certain disagreements or disputes have been prevented and resolved on the basisof common interests.

ASEAN-led forums has gathered many world powers. Theassociation has established close cooperation with many countries and importantorganisations in the world, including world powers. So far, 94 countries havesent their ambassadors to ASEAN, while 54 ASEAN committees have beenestablished in third countries and at international organisations./.

VNA