Hanoi (VNA) - The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) hasbecome an effective and practical defence-security consultative mechanism,helping the region cope with emerging non-traditional security challenges over thepast decade, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

In a message sent to a virtual ceremony marking the 10th anniversaryof the founding of the ADMM-Plus hosted by the Defence Ministry on December 10, the PM highlighted that the anniversaryis a milestone in cooperation between ASEAN member states and their eight dialoguepartners, contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in theregion.

Amid the formidable challenges in the region and the world, particularly as COVID-19has ravaged the five continents, the PM underlined that it is time for multilateralcooperation mechanisms in the region led by ASEAN, including ADMM Plus, topromote their role in ensuring peace and stable cooperation.

He took the occasion to speak highly of the new working methods of ADMM andADMM Plus mechanisms in 2020, such as the organisation of online conferences, whichcontribute to maintaining dialogue and momentum of cooperation within the ASEANbloc as well as between ASEAN and its partners.

With the results of the ADMM Plus mechanism in the past, PM Phuc said allparties should identify a proper position for ASEAN in the post-pandemic world,with a central role in preserving a peaceful, stable, and united region based oninternational law.

ASEAN should continue to prove its mettle and promote its leading role inboosting cooperation, dialogue, and trust building among nations, whilesettling disputes and differences via peaceful means and based on internationalrules and ASEAN documents on regional code of conduct, he stressed.

The Government leader suggested ASEAN pay due regard to the wish and needs of countriesoutside the region to cooperate with the bloc for the common purpose ofregional peace, stability, and practical development, explaining the move wouldhelp better the capacity of ASEAN member states in response to emergingsecurity threats.

The Vietnamese Government pledges close cooperation and concerted effort withother ASEAN members to realise the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and build acohesive and responsive ASEAN Community.

PM Phuc expressed a hope that the ADMM Plus mechanism will further develop andachieve important progress in preserving peace, stability, and prosperouscooperation, thus living up to the expectations of local people.

At the ceremony, Vietnamese Minister of Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich describedthe establishment of the ADMM Plus mechanism as a significant contribution by Vietnamto ASEAN’s development.

Since the first meeting in Hanoi in 2010, the ADMM Plus mechanism has played animportant role in regional peace and stability as well as mutual understandingand trust among nations, creating a premise for ASEAN to enhance regionalconnectivity in the time ahead.

Lich said that in order to adapt to the changeable regional and internationalenvironment with intertwined opportunities and challenges, members of the ADMMPlus should make further efforts to consolidate the mechanism’s role in the shapingregional architecture with ASEAN at the centre through close collaboration withother cooperative mechanisms where ASEAN plays a central role, such as the EastAsia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

As a proactive and responsible member of ASEAN as well as ADMM Plus, Vietnamwill do its utmost and work with ASEAN states and partners to build a region ofpeace, stability, cooperation, and development.

The ASEAN Secretary General, the Indian Defence Minister, the Japanese DefenceMinister, and the UN Under-Secretary General delivered speeches congratulating the ADMM Plus on its 10th anniversary./.