Vietnam, Indonesia hold third defence policy dialogue

(Bqp.vn) - Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Secretary General of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto co-chaired the third Vietnam-Indonesia defence policy dialogue in Hanoi on October 31.

Senenor Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (R) welcoming Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto.

Speaking at the event, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien affirmed that Vietnam consistently follows the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, multilateralisation and diversification of ties.

For his part, Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto considered defence ties as one of the pillars in bilateral comprehensive cooperation and pledged to reinforce mutually beneficial defence ties that match the significant potential of the two countries.

During the dialogue.

At the dialogue, the two sides agreed that bilateral collaboration based on agreed contents at the second dialogue has achieved important results in various areas, including exchange of delegations at all levels, maintaining consultation and dialogue mechanisms, cooperation between different military units, training and mutual support at multilateral forums led by ASEAN.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien speaking at the event.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien spoke highly of the signing of an agreement on joint training procedures between the two navies in December 2021, and an MoU on cooperation in maritime security and safety between the two coast guard forces in December 2022, laying the foundation to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement cooperation activities at sea.

Lieutenant General Donny Ermawan Taufanto speaking at the event.

The two sides also commended the outcomes of the fifth meeting of the joint working group on defence-military cooperation and the third meeting of the joint working group on defence industry cooperation held earlier the same day.

Discussing the future cooperation orientations, they reaffirmed their commitment to further enhancing result-oriented and effective bilateral defence cooperation, to contribute to the two countries’ efforts toward upgrading their ties to comprehensive strategic partnership, with a focus on the exchange of all-level delegations, effective consultation and dialogue mechanisms, practical and effective coordination between naval forces, coast guards, defence industries, training and strategic research, and areas of their strengths and needs. They agreed to offer mutual support at multilateral forums and mechanisms, particularly those led by ASEAN.

The two sides spoke highly of the role of ASEAN and the mechanisms led by the bloc, and affirmed their joint efforts to actively contribute to strengthening ASEAN’s solidarity and centrality in the regional security architecture.

The two sides signing the minutes of dialogue.

They also underscored the importance of ensuring freedom, security and safety of navigation and overflight in the East Sea. They stressed the need to step up commitments and the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), work for the early completion of negotiations and signing of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that is in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).