Opening of the 5th ASEAN Navy Chiefs Conference

This morning, July 27, the 5th ASEAN Navy Chiefs' Conference (ANCM-5), themed "ASEAN Naval Cooperation for Peace and Maritime Security", officially opened in Hanoi, with the participation of Navy Commanders of 9 ASEAN member countries and the Defense Attaché of the Lao Embassy in Vietnam.

In his opening remarks to welcome the conference, Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, stated: The first ASEAN Navy Commanders' Conference held in Vietnam is a great honor for the Vietnam People's Navy in particular and the Vietnam People's Army in general. The conference takes place in the context of many new developments in regional security, with special attention given to maritime security. Today, the maritime space is increasingly connecting us in many aspects, from economics, trade, environment to defense, security and increasingly requires countries to share greater responsibility in the face of emerging security challenges related to the sea.

Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty also affirmed that ensuring a peaceful, stable, safe and harmonious maritime environment serving sustainable economic development is the common aspiration of all of us and is the core element connecting and promoting cooperation in ASEAN.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army emphasized the strong commitment of the Ministry of National Defense, the Vietnam People's Army, including the Navy, to the development of ASEAN defense and security cooperation for long-term peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Strongly support cooperation between ASEAN navies on bilateral and multilateral channels, as well as expanding cooperation between ASEAN navies and partner countries.

On behalf of the Vietnam Navy, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Commander of the Navy, said that ANCM-5 with the theme "ASEAN Naval Cooperation for Peace and Maritime Security" took place in the context of the extremely complicated security situation in the East Sea, the violation of national sovereignty by some ASEAN countries is causing concerns for many countries in and outside the region, especially violations of international law, specifically the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien stated that this situation is not beneficial to any country in the region, including landlocked countries. The navies of ASEAN countries are all law enforcement forces, ensuring security at sea. Therefore, we have the duty to protect our national sovereignty and we also have the obligation to cooperate and coordinate at sea as an ASEAN member country in the spirit of solidarity and friendship.

With the theme “ASEAN Naval Cooperation for Peace and Maritime Security”, in the opening session, the Commanders of the ASEAN Navy presented many papers, aiming to exchange and share views on the current regional security situation, maritime security, especially maritime security, as well as discuss cooperation measures of the ASEAN navies in maintaining peace, stability and ensuring security, creating a favorable environment for prosperous development of the region.

Along with that, representatives of the navies of ASEAN countries also discussed initiatives and proposals of Vietnam and countries in the region such as: "Orientation of ASEAN Naval Cooperation", "Exchange of young Customs officers of ASEAN countries", "Establishing a hotline between navies of ASEAN countries", "Initiative to send salute signals between ships and naval aircraft when meeting at sea" and some other contents.

ANCM-5 will last until July 29 and during the conference, the delegations will visit some units of the Vietnam People's Navy. At the same time, the Vietnamese delegation will also have bilateral contacts with the delegations to enhance understanding and exchange bilateral cooperation areas in the naval field. Also at ANCM-5, the Commander of the Brunei Navy hosted ANCM-6 in 2012.

(According to SGGP)