Hanoi, (VNA) - The 7th ASEAN DefenceMinisters Meeting Plus (ADMM +) was held via videoconference on December 10under the chair of Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich.

The meeting was attended by the defenceministers of ASEAN member states and eight partner countries (Russia, China,the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India), alongwith ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi. Ambassadors and defence attachés ofparticipating countries in Hanoi were also present.

In his opening remarks, Lich said that whilesome multilateral mechanisms in the world have encountered difficulties andchallenges, defence cooperation within ASEAN and between the bloc and partnersremains a bright spot.

He highlighted the military's active role inthe fight against COVID-19 in each country as well as in regional cooperation,noting that in a “cohesive and responsive” spirit and by optimising modern digitalplatforms, the countries have maintained regular exchanges and cooperation.

2020 has been full of challenges, he said,pointing out that COVID-19 has resulted in numerous political, economic,diplomatic, trade, and investment impacts, posing substantial challenges toASEAN and its partners.

However, he added, despite restrictions on cross-bordermovements, many initiatives have still been conducted to promote cooperationwithin ASEAN as well as between the bloc and its partners.

Participants appreciated Vietnam’s proactive andtimely response to the new context and active realisation of priorities andinitiatives set for 2020, when it served as Chair of ASEAN.

Vietnam has successfully organised ASEAN defence-militarymeetings while proposing and implementing anti-pandemic initiatives andcarrying out cooperation activities within the ADMM Plus framework in a timelymanner, they said.

Officials stressed that despite COVID-19, theADMM Plus countries have continued to bolster cooperation via modern digitalplatforms and reinforcing ASEAN’s cohesion and proactiveness during the bloc’sadaptation to geostrategic and geopolitical shifts by strengthening defencecooperation among ASEAN members and between them and the Plus countries.

Discussing the global and regional situation,they shared the view that the region is now facing a number of challenges, bothtraditional and non-traditional, such as those relating to maritime security,cyber security, terrorism, trans-national crime, climate change, and epidemics,which jeopardise regional peace and stability.

They voiced support for the maintenance ofpeace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation in the East Sea,along with the peaceful settlement of disputes and differences on the basis ofinternational law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The countries agreed to continue bolsteringdefence cooperation within the regional architecture, with ASEAN at the centre,so as to build trust and boost capacity in better responding to common securitythreats in the region, thus helping with regional peace, stability, anddevelopment, the achievement of  ASEANCommunity building targets, and enhancement of the bloc’s centrality in theregion and the world.

Lich echoed other officials’ assessment of thecurrent security context and their concern about both traditional andnon-traditional security challenges, agreeing that no single country caneffectively respond to such challenges by itself, and that bilateral andmultilateral cooperation is needed.

In terms of multilateral cooperation, the ADMMPlus continued to prove itself an effective and suitable mechanism for parties tofoster substantive ties on the basis of what has been obtained over the last decade,he said.

The meeting adopted a joint statement on thestrategic security vision that reflects member states’ consensus and resolve totighten defence connections to further contribute to regional and global peace,stability, and development.

At the end of the meeting, Vietnam handed overthe Chairmanship of the ADMM and ADMM Plus to Brunei, which is also Chair ofASEAN in 2021./.