Head of the delegation, Colonel Vu Thanh Van, Director of the External Relations Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, proposed that it is necessary to agree on how to implement the observer regulation of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus Experts' Working Group for partners on the basis of the ADMM's concept paper on external relations adopted at the 15th ADMM in June.
Van also announced the multilateral activities that Vietnam is expected to host in the near future, including the ADSOM WG at the end of November and the 15th meeting of the ADMM Plus Experts’ Working Group on peacekeeping, scheduled to be held online in December. The ADSOM WG will discuss and develop guiding documents for the implementation of a flag-raising initiative, which places the ASEAN flag next to the national flag at the military unit of an ASEAN member state participating in UN peacekeeping operations.
At the conference, participants discussed the implementation of outcomes achieved at the 15th ADMM and the 8th ADMM Plus, including the consideration of the proposals of the UK, France, Canada, and the EU to become observers of the ADMM Plus Experts’ Working Group.
They also agreed on the preparations for the ADMM Retreat and the informal meeting of ASEAN Defense Ministers of ASEAN with Australia and the Republic of Korea in November.
The countries also informed about upcoming activities in the ADMM and ADMM Plus mechanisms, including the preparation for the ASEAN-Russia navy exercise co-chaired by Indonesia and Russia.
