ASEAN armies talk ways for more effective cooperation

The delegation of the Việt Nam People’s Army at the 7th ASEAN Chief of Defense Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM-7), Hà Nội, March 25, 2010 – Photo: VNA

Presiding the meeting, Chief of the Việt Nam People’s Army General Staff, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Khắc Nghiên, stated that Southeast Asia is facing many non-traditional and trans-national security challenges, including terrorist threats, disasters and diseases to the impacts of climate change, marine security, and food and energy security issues.

The Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister went on to say that these threats can only be fruitfully dealt with through close cooperation and coordination.

Over the past years, ASEAN armies have promoted their cooperation at different levels.
To improve the effectiveness of cooperation among ASEAN armies and meet new development requirements, Sen. Lt. Gen. Nghiên stress on the necessity of connectivity and coordination in sharing information and conducting common activities.

Apart from dialogues, trust building and experience exchange, ASEAN members should promote cooperation activities in reality such as search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster mitigation, he said.

These activities will help bring new momentum to ASEAN military cooperation and contribute to raising the role and prestige of each ASEAN nation’s armed forces, he added.

ASEAN nations should also continue building and implement the two-year action plan – an important undertaking that will identify cooperation activities for ASEAN armies from now until 2011.

At the meeting, leaders of ASEAN armies put forward initiatives and ideas to boost cooperation in settling common regional challenges with a focus on the prevention and control of disasters and diseases, along with climate change.