VietNamNet
Bridge – Vietnam has shown its support
for Cambodia ’s initiative to build a conflict-free ASEAN region and a
statement on plans to integrate ASEAN’s security.
On
addressing the sixth ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-6) in Phnom Penh on
May 29, Vietnam ’s Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh called on all
ASEAN countries to maintain an environment of peace, stability, cooperation and
development in order to establish the Political-Security Community by 2015.
To
realise this target, all parties must keep calm and restrained and hold talks
to solve disputes at sea by adhering to international laws, including the 1982
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), said Minister Thanh.
All
parties need to stick to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East
Sea (DOC), signed between ASEAN and China , and work towards a Code of Conduct
(COC).
He
stressed that Vietnam ’s viewpoint is solving bilateral disputes through
bilateral talks and disputes involving many countries, many sides should be
dealt with multilaterally, to find an acceptable solution for every party
concerned.
The
region’s countries also need to build up trust and prevent conflicts by
increasing bilateral and multilateral cooperation in defence in the framework
of the ADMM and ADMM Plus mechanisms.
He said
that border and territorial disputes in the region and sovereignty claims in
the East Sea are very complex and could lead to armed conflict if the concerned
parties do not try to restrain themselves.
“The
dispute over sovereignty in the East Sea is a fact that we don’t need to avoid,
because it happened within the Southeast Asian region, and the dispute occurred
between ASEAN countries themselves and between several ASEAN countries and an
outside country,” said the minister.
According
to Thanh, although at times there are complicated disputes at sea between
Vietnam and China, defence-military exchanges and cooperation between the two
countries, as well as the relations between the two defence ministries, the two
General Staffs, their Navies and Border Guard forces remain very good.
“It can
be said that the current Vietnam-China relationship is one of solidarity,
friendship and multi-faceted cooperation, which helps socio-economic development
and maintains socio-politic stability in each country. The maritime dispute is
the only contentious issue that exists in Vietnamese-Chinese relations at
present,” Thanh said.
Minister
Thanh also underlined Vietnam ’s assessment and viewpoint on defence and
security issues in region and around the world.
He
noted that in general, the region is still a peaceful stable environment, but
there are implicit security risks and threats, including non-traditional
security issues.
The
one-day ADMM 6 concluded in Phnom Penh on May 29 with the announcement of a
paper reviewing the frequency of ASEAN Defence Ministers' Plus meetings (ADMM+)
and a joint statement on enhancing ASEAN unity for a harmonised and secure
community.
The
statement confirmed ASEAN member countries’ commitment to implementing the DOC
towards the COC and stressed the importance of maritime freedom in the East Sea
in accordance with international laws, including 1982 UNCLOS.
The
ADMM, first held in 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, focuses on defence in the
group, which consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
VietNamNet/Vietnam
Plus
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