ASEAN defence ministers have promoted trust and confidence in cooperation among 10 member states through the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) that was launched in 2006, Southeast Asia specialist Carl Thayer has said.

Vietnam's Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich at a virtual regional meeting in July 2020. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The cooperation has been formed in six main areas namely Counter-terrorism, Defence Industry, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Maritime Security, Military Medicine, and Peacekeeping Operations, said the Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales, Canberra.

For example, the ADMM approved Guidelines for Maritime Interactions and the Guidelines for Air Military Encounter, he added.

Since May 2006, the ADMM has created a vertical organizational structure consisting of the ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Multilateral Meeting, Senior Officials Meeting (ADSOM), meetings of service chiefs (army, navy, air and intelligence) and ASEAN Chiefs of Military Medicine Conference.

In addition, the ADMM has been proactive in promoting defense cooperation through Expert Working Groups in seven areas with its eight ADMM-Plus dialogue partners through Expert Working Groups on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Maritime Security, Military Medicine, Counter-Terrorism, Peacekeeping Operations, Humanitarian Mine Action and Cyber Security.

The 7th ADMM-Plus in Hanoi in mid-December 2020 reviewed and adopted the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Groups Work Plans 2021-2023.

The famous professor highlighted the contributions by Vietnam, the ASEAN Chair 2020, to the ADMM and ADMM+ over the past years.

He said Vietnam has consistently supported the establishment and institutional growth of both the ADMM and the ADMM-Plus. The country persistently advocates practical measures of defense cooperation. It played a key role in the evolution of the ASEAN Chiefs of Navy from an informal process to a more structured annual meeting.

On November 6th, 2020, Vietnam hosted the virtual 14th ASEAN Chiefs of Navy Meeting (ACNM). Rear Admiral Tran Thanh Nghiem, chief of the Vietnam People’s Navy, called for the improvement of information sharing through the Information Fusion Centre and hotlines between navies. He also called for holding multilateral naval exercises and seminars under the ANCM.

Vietnam promoted the idea of the ADMM-Plus and hosted the inaugural meeting in Hanoi in 2010, Prof. Thayer noted.