The fifth ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) was officially
opened in Jakarta yesterday, May 19, in which various regional issues such as terrorism,
piracy and armed conflicts would be discussed.

Defence Ministers and representatives from ASEAN nations pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of the 5th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta yesterday. — AFP/VNA Photo

Themed “Strengthening Defence Co-operation
of ASEAN and the Global Community to Face New Challenges”, the two-day meeting
attracted the participation of 10 ASEAN Defence Ministers. The Vietnamese
delegation was led by Defence Minister, General Phung Quang Thanh.

“The ADDM’s goal is to increase peace and
stability in the region,” said Indonesian Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro
in his opening remarks.

Defence co-operation among ASEAN members
plays an important role in dealing with regional security conflicts, advancing
towards the target of building an ASEAN Community by 2015 with one of the three
key pillars being Political-Security Community, he said.

Strong political and security relations
among ASEAN members would be able to help the bloc play a greater role in coping
with global challenges, said Yusgiantoro.

According to him, the world is facing
challenges such as piracy, terrorism, human trafficking, maritime security,
climate change, cooking security, energy security and natural resource decline.

“Conflicts in several regions are still a
challenge in realising safe and stable world,” he said.

These challenges will cause negative
impacts on national defence in the future, and as a result increasing defence
co-operation among ASEAN members is a must to build an ASEAN Community,
Yusgiantoro said.

On May 18, Indonesian Vice President
Boediono received Vietnamese Defence Minister Thanh on the sidelines of the ADMM-5.

At the meeting, Boediono spoke highly of
Indonesia-Vietnam relations, saying he hoped that the relations would boost the
process of building an ASEAN Community and increase member states’ capacity to
deal with bilateral and multilateral issues, including defence and security
issues.

The same day, the Cambodian and Thai
Defence Ministers met and discussed possible solutions to the border dispute
between the two countries.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News