At the third Vietnam-Indonesia defence policy dialogue. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of NationalDefence Sen. Lieut. Gen Hoang Xuan Chien and Secretary General of the IndonesianMinistry of Defence Lieut. Gen DonnyErmawan Taufanto co-chaired the third Vietnam-Indonesia defence policy dialoguein Hanoi on October 31.
At the dialogue, Deputy Minister Chien affirmed that Vietnam consistently follows the foreignpolicy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, multilateralisationand diversification of ties, and the defence policy of "four nos",including no partaking in military alliances, no sidingwith one country to act against another, no foreign military bases in the Vietnameseterritory or using Vietnam as leverage to counteract other countries, and nouse of force or threatening to use force in international relations.
Taufanto, for his part, describeddefence ties as one of the pillars in bilateral comprehensive cooperation andpledged to reinforce mutually beneficial defence tiesthat match the significant potential of both countries.
The two sides shared the viewthat bilateral collaboration based on agreed contents at the second dialogue has brought about important results invarious areas, including the exchange of delegations at all levels, maintainingconsultation and dialogue mechanisms, cooperation between different militarybranches, training and mutual support at multilateral forums led by ASEAN.
The Vietnamese side spoke highly of the signingof an agreement on joint training procedures in December 2021 between the twonavies, and an MoU on cooperation in maritime securityand safety between the two coast guard forces in December 2022, laying the foundation to improve the effectiveness of lawenforcement cooperation activities at sea.
Host and guest also commended the outcomes ofthe fifth meeting of the joint working group on defence-military cooperationand the third meeting of the joint working group on defence industry cooperationheld the same day.
About future cooperation orientations, they reaffirmedtheir commitment to further enhancing result-oriented and effective bilateraldefence cooperation, to contribute to the two countries' efforts toward upgrading their ties to comprehensive strategicpartnership, with a focus on the exchange of all-level delegations, effectiveconsultation and dialogue mechanisms, practical and effective coordinationbetween naval forces, coast guards, defence industries, training and strategicresearch, and areas of their strengths and needs.
They agreed to offer mutual support atmultilateral forums and mechanisms, particularly those led by ASEAN, and support events hostedby the other country.
On global and regionalissues of shared concern, the two sides spoke highly of the role of ASEAN andthe mechanisms led by the bloc, and affirmed their joint efforts to activelycontribute to strengthening ASEAN's solidarity and centrality in the regionalsecurity architecture.
The two sides also underscored the importance ofensuring freedom, security and safety of navigation and overflight in the EastSea. They stressed the need to step up commitments and the effectiveimplementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea(DOC), work for the early completion of negotiations and signing of a practical and effective Code of Conductin the East Sea (COC) that is in line with international law, including the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.
