Vietnam and Indonesia held second defence policy dialogue virtually on October 14. Photo: qdnd.vn

Vietnam and Indonesia held second defence policy dialogue virtually on October 14, during which they exchanged views on bilateral defence cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The event was co-chaired by Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Vietnam, and Lieut. Gen. Donny Ermawant Taufanto, Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense of Indonesia, VOV reported.

The two sides spoke highly of the results of the fourth meeting of the Joint Working Group on Military Defense Cooperation on September 29, 2021 and the second exchange on defense industry cooperation on September 30, 2021.

The event was co-chaired by Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Vietnam, and Lieut. Gen. Donny Ermawant Taufanto, Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense of Indonesia. Photo: qdnd.vn

They shared the view that despite the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral defense cooperation has constantly been maintained in a flexible and appropriate form, achieving positive results. They have maintained the joint working group on training cooperation and closely coordinated and consulted each other about multilateral mechanisms.

The two sides also discussed the role of each country’s military in Covid-19 prevention and control, introduced their Defence White Paper, and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Regarding the Bien Dong (South China Sea) issue, the two sides emphasised the need to maintain peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, and peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

For future cooperation, they agreed to increase delegation exchanges, step up cooperation in the defense industry and the Covid-19 fight, and support each other at multilateral events and cooperation mechanisms.

The Vietnam - Indonesia joint working group on defence - military cooperation convened the fourth meeting via videoconference on September 29, aiming to prepare for the second defence policy dialogue, the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported.

A view of the 4th meeting of the Vietnam - Indonesia joint working group on defence - military cooperation in September. Photo: Ministry of National Defence

Colonel Vu Thanh Van, Director of the External Relations Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, expressed the willingness to join hands with the Indonesian side to help promote defence and military cooperation.

He noted in the Vietnam - Indonesia strategic partnership, bilateral defence and military links have maintained a positive development trend in the recent past.

Both sides shared the view that the joint working group has shown its effectiveness in helping to develop substantive defence - military ties between Vietnam and Indonesia.

Notably, leaders of the two militaries have paid mutual visits on the occasion of each other’s important events. The countries have also maintained and made good use of the consultation and information exchange mechanisms; shared experience between their military arms and services; cooperated in the defence industry; and supported and consulted each other at multilateral forums.

Regarding cooperation orientations for the time ahead, the two officials agreed to propose their defence ministries’ leaders increase mutual visits, especially at high levels, to boost viewpoint sharing and trust building; bring into play consultation and dialogue mechanisms; augment ties in personnel training; continue supporting each other at multilateral forums; and consider expanding cooperation to more areas such as search, rescue, and military medicine, particularly in Covid-19 response./.

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