Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Ro Manabe chaired the meeting while Lieutenant General Sein Win, Myanmar Defense Minister, was invited to deliver a keynote speech.
The ASEAN-Japan Deputy Defense Ministers’ Meeting is an annual event starting from 2009 on Japan’s initiative.
This year’s meeting, which focused on strengthening ASEAN-Japan defense cooperation so as to improving the regional security environment, was organized into three sessions: Regional security situation, efforts to solve common challenges, and future ASEAN-Japan defense cooperation.
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| Delegates at the meeting |
Addressing the opening session, the Japanese Deputy Defense Minister underscored that Japan always attaches importance to tightening cooperation with ASEAN countries, and proposed that ASEAN countries should increase experience sharing and support each other in dealing with non-traditional security challenges and well performing their duty to the UN.
Delegates then discussed recent developments of the regional security situation, particularly regional maritime and aviation security. They also highlighted recent common efforts and initiatives to promote cooperation between/among ASEAN countries and its partners, including Japan on humanitarian aid, disaster relief and rescue, anti-terrorism, maritime security and UN peacekeeping operations within the framework of ADMM+.
Delegates also agreed that ASEAN and Japan should promote coordination and boost the implementation of cooperation contents toward practical outcomes, meeting the current need for connecting resources between and among regional countries and their partners.
In his remarks at the meeting, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, head of the Vietnamese delegation, affirmed that Vietnam strongly supports increased relations between ASEAN and Japan, including bilateral defense cooperation, on the basis of Japan’s contributing more to unity of ASEAN, and honoring independence and self-reliance of individual ASEAN member countries as well as the central role of ASEAN in regional mechanisms.
General Vinh also shared with Japan’s concern about maritime security situations in the East China Sea, and highlighted recent complicated developments and engagement of major powers in the East Sea (South China Sea) that challenge Vietnam and other ASEAN member countries as well as regional security and stability.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the visiting Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister met his Japanese counterpart Ro Manabe and Malaysian counterpart Mohd Johari Baharum.
At the meeting with his Japanese counterpart, the two sides agreed to deepen the bilateral defense ties and expand cooperation on such areas of rescue, Un peacekeeping operations and overcoming the aftermath of war to be on a par with the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership.
On the meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, the two sides expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of bilateral defense cooperation over the past years, particularly after the two defense ministries signed a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation in 2008 and a Protocol on defense cooperation in 2015.
They also agreed to bolster bilateral defense relations and cooperation in the future.
