Vietnam-Singapore: dialogue on defense policy

The fifth dialogue on defense policy between Vietnam and Singapore took place from November 19 to 21 in Singapore.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh met with the Permanent Secretary of Singapore Ministry of Defence, Chang Chie Foo.

Both parties have sought to strengthen bilateral relations in defense to match the strategic partnership between the two countries, which will be signed in 2013.

On the regional situation, both parties agreed that it remains traditional security challenges such as non-traditional. They stressed that all parties should strive to promote friendship and cooperation to contribute to peace and stability in the world.

They stressed the importance of solidarity and unity among the ASEAN countries to maintain peace and stability in the region, to limit outside influences that are capable of causing divisions intestine within ASEAN, and to strengthen the central role of ASEAN in multinational forums.

Regarding the East Sea, Vietnam and Singapore have found that the ASEAN members and other stakeholders must redouble their efforts to build trust, advancing peaceful measures to resolve disputes gradually based on transparency and respect international law including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties Orientatale Sea (DOC), and to develop in the short time a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Both parties agreed to strengthen their relations on various levels including the training of personnel, military medicine, the exchange of experiences of participation in international peacekeeping to peace.

The two countries also discussed cooperation in multilateral fora in the region, including the Conference of Defence Ministers of ASEAN (ADMM) and the enlarged conference of this event (ADMM +).

They unanimously stated that these forums whose potentials are important in terms of maintaining the principles of peace, stability, mutual respect, the central role of ASEAN, as well as respect for international law in relationships within this block as in those with non-member countries of ASEAN to solve problems when they arise. AVI-