Malaysian Defence Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahrid Hamidi said that the role of China and the US is important but defence cooperation in Southeast Asia must be led by ASEAN.

Malaysian Defence Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahrid Hamidi

Malaysian Defence Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahrid Hamidi said that the role of China and the US is important but defence cooperation in Southeast Asia must be led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Malaysian Defence Minister and his counterparts of ASEAN member countries and eight ASEAN’s dialogue partners – China, Japan, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and the US – are taking part in the first ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) in Hanoi.

Speaking with correspondents on the meeting sideline, Mr. Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahrid Hamidi said the expansion of regional cooperation to ensure peace and stability and the role of two big partners – China and the US but he emphasised that ASEAN must guide the regional cooperation mechanism.

“Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and other ASEAN countries have agreed about the cooperation in defence industry. We have spent around US$25 billion to import defence equipment annually. We need to have understanding from European countries and to produce products for ourselves,” he said.

“But I think it is not important to have one or two superpowers to join us but, as I’ve emphasized, that ASEAN must be led by ASEAN. We [ASEAN] should work together rather than depend on the strength of others in military activities.”

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith told correspondents that Australia highly appreciates the cooperation mechanism in ADMM+, with ASEAN’s central role.

“Australia was the first dialogue partner of ASEAN 30 years ago. To date, ASEAN has developed from a regional organization with several members to an organization with all ten countries in the region,” he said.

He said the ADMM+ is of great significance to ASEAN and the bloc’s eight dialogue partners, including Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. The ten ASEAN nations along with their partner nations will hold meetings at head of state and foreign minister and defence minister levels in the future. This will contribute substantially to ensuring security and peace in the region.

Also on the sideline of the ADMM+, the Vietnamese and Australian Defence Ministers signed a memorandum of understanding about bilateral defence cooperation.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, on October 11, separately received the Defence Ministers of China, the US and Japan.

Receiving Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie, the PM expressed his delight at comprehensive and intensive developments in the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, saying the minister’s ongoing visit marks a vivid manifestation of the strength of this partnership.

He applauded the outcomes of the earlier talks between Liang and his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh, during which the ministers shared experiences in building up armed forces and discussed measures to increase the exchange of delegations and boost cooperation in training and offshore joint patrols.

Regarding the East Sea-related issue, the government leader said the two sides should hold negotiations in the spirit of comradeship and fraternity and in line with international law.

He said implementing the Hanoi Plan of Action to put into effect the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Vision Statement and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) would help maintain peace, stability and development cooperation in the East Sea.

PM Dung also expressed his hope that the two nations would find basic and long-term solutions acceptable to both sides as they had successfully dealt with the land border issue and the demarcation of the Tonkin Gulf.

While talking with US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, PM Dung said bilateral relations have grown fruitfully over the past 15 years, benefiting both nations, and that the Vietnamese Government wants to join hands with the US to build an equal partnership on the basis of reciprocal respect and benefit.

The PM spoke highly of defence cooperation between the two countries and urged the US and Vietnamese Defence Ministers to discuss issues of mutual concern, especially US assistance to Vietnam in training, rescue and mitigating natural disasters.

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith

Mr Gates said US-Vietnam cooperative relations have seen great progress, particularly in searching for the remains of armed services personnel missing in action (MIA), bomb clearance, and Agent Orange/dioxin disinfection.

The secretary said the US cares about bomb and mine clearance and is willing to provide Vietnam with the latest technology to cleanse AO/dioxin, and thanked Vietnam for its help in seeking the MIA.

To elevate the bilateral relationship to a new level, Mr. Gates said the two nations should focus on important fields of cooperation such as defence policy dialogues, overcoming the aftermath of war, search and rescue, humanitarian aid, ensuring maritime security and safety and maintaining peace in years to come.

He affirmed that the US supports efforts to ensure security in the East Sea through diplomacy and peaceful dialogue among concerned nations.

During his reception for Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, PM Dung stressed that the minister’s visit makes a practical contribution to the strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and Japan, as well as the success of the ADMM+.

The PM said in parallel with economic and cultural cooperation, Vietnam and Japan need to step up defence ties in the spirit of mutual respect for each other’s independence and sovereignty, with non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and no threats to the independence and sovereignty of any other states. The enhancement of Vietnam-Japan defence cooperation is aimed at maintaining peace and development, he emphasised.

Kitazawa praised Vietnam’s endeavours in hosting the first ADMM+, saying that this is a suitable mechanism for boosting defence and security cooperation amongst the ASEAN member nations with their partner and dialogue countries, laying the foundation for them to establish cooperative relations for peace, stability and development.

XLinh