ASEAN Defence SOM Working Group meeting opens

A meeting of the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials' Meeting Working Group (ADSOM WG) opened in the central city of Da Nang on January 9, with over 80 delegates from policymaking units of 10 ASEAN countries’ defence ministries and ASEAN Secretariat taking part.
ASEAN Defence SOM Working Group meeting opens ảnh 1Delegates at the event (Photo: VNA)
Da Nang (VNA) – A meeting of the ASEAN DefenceSenior Officials' Meeting Working Group (ADSOM WG) opened in the central cityof Da Nang on January 9, with over 80 delegates from policymaking units of 10ASEAN countries’ defence ministries and ASEAN Secretariat taking part.

It is the first meeting in a series of military-defenceactivities since Vietnam assumed the 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship earlier this year.

The ADSOM WG meeting aims to fine-tune the contents and makepreparations for the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADSOM), the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), and the seventh ADMM Plus.

Participants will update the ASEAN defence cooperationprocess, review new initiatives and three-year action plan for the ADMM andbuild documents for ADMM 14 and ADMM Plus.

Military-defence activities during Vietnam’s ASEAN chairmanshipyear are expected to promote regional peace and stability via dialogues and defence-securitycollaboration, guide approaches to dialogues and national defence-securitycoordination among the ASEAN member states and between ASEAN and partnercountries, foster mutual trust via deeper understanding about defencechallenges, and improve transparency and openness among the countries.

Director of the Defence Ministry’s Foreign RelationsDepartment Lieut. Gen. Vu Chien Thang, head of the Vietnamese delegation to theADSOM WG meeting, said Vietnam will table documents to be submitted to theupcoming ADMMs.

The country suggests placing the ASEAN flag next to those ofcountries joining the United Nations peacekeeping mission, he said. Ifapproved, the ASEAN flag will sit next to Vietnam’s flag at the second Level-2 fieldhospital in South Sudan.

Earlier on January 8, the Vietnamese delegation metbilaterally with those of ASEAN member countries to the ADSOM WG meeting./.
VNA

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