The announcement was made by Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien who is leading a Vietnamese delegation to the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADSOM) and the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM+) in Phnom Penh from May 17-18.

Addressing the meeting, Chien said the organisation of ADSOM and ADSOM+ enables participating countries to have a chance to share ideas on issues of mutual interest.

Vietnam is currently developing a document guiding the implementation of placing the ASEAN flag next to the national flag at the military units of ASEAN member states participating in UN peacekeeping operations, the head of the Vietnamese delegation said, adding the initiative was approved by the 14th ADMM Conference held in December 2020.

Chien said he hoped the ADMM joint statement will be unanimously adopted by all countries at the upcoming meeting held in-person form.

According to the head of the Vietnamese delegation, the statement reflects solidarity and unity among ASEAN countries in addressing regional and world affairs for peace, stability, cooperation and development.

At the meeting, delegates heard the outcomes of the ADSOM Working Group and the 16th annual meeting of the Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions; and discussed the bloc’s current cooperation and considered new initiatives for the  ADMM.

The delegations discussed and agreed on documents to be submitted to ADMM and ADMM+ for approval in 2022, including new initiatives, the Phnom Penh Vision Statement on the role of defence agencies in ASEAN countries in support of post-COVID-19 recovery; and ADMM and ADMM+ joint statements.

Cooperation activities with dialogue partner countries, as well as preparations for ADSOM+, ADMM, ADMM Plus and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Retreat, were also discussed at the event.

Source: VNA