ASEAN - Republic of Korea Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting held online

(Bqp.vn) - The ASEAN - Republic of Korea (RoK) Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting was held online on November 10 under the co-chair of Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Brunei’s Second Defence Minister and Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook. Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang leading the Vietnamese delegation attended the event.

During the meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The delegates highly appreciated the organization of the first informal meeting between the ASEAN defence ministers and the Korean defence minister, and the ASEAN - RoK Cooperation Action Plan developed by the Korean Defence Ministry, so that to create the basis for the orientation of defence cooperation between ASEAN and the RoK in the coming time.

Delegates attending the online meeting.

At the meeting, the delegates assessed multilateral cooperation in responding to non-traditional security challenges and the possibility of cooperation in cyber security in ADMM-Plus; discussed measures to improve ASEAN’s peacekeeping capacity, including enhancement of training on peacekeeping for ASEAN military officers. On this occasion, the RoK announced the organization of the Defence Ministers’ Conference on UN peacekeeping in December 2021.

General Phan Van Giang speaking at the event.

As the coordinator of ASEAN - RoK relations, General Phan Van Giang valued the contribution of the RoK in cooperation mechanisms led by ASEAN, especially ADMM-Plus; hoped that the RoK would successfully assume the role of co-chair of the ADMM-Plus Experts Group on Cyber Security for the 2021 - 2023 cycle with Malaysia; appreciated the RoK’s commitment in cooperation with ASEAN through the ASEAN - RoK Defence Cooperation Action Plan developed by the Korean Defence Ministry, contributing to regional peace and stability, including the East Sea issue. He also supported the RoK’s proposal on measures to improve ASEAN’s peacekeeping capacity.

General Phan Van Giang highly appreciated the RoK’s capacity in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and thanked the country for its support for ASEAN countries in general and Vietnam in particular in pandemic prevention and control.