Progress in defence cooperation between ASEAN and Japan
9/10/14
On October 7, the 6th ASEAN-Japan Deputy Ministers’
Meeting on Defence has officially took place in Yokohama, Japan.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of Defence led Vietnam’s delegation to attend the conference. This conference
focused on discussing the two main themes including “The status related to maritime security in Asia-Pacific”
and “how to maintain and improve maritime security in the region”.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said ASEAN
and Japan had joint concerns about the recent
developments in the
sea, including the East China Sea
and South China Sea, concerning the behavior
does not respect international law,
violated the sovereignty of the country and
particularly affected security, maritime safety, impacted on trade. All
countries were aware of the necessity of strengthening cooperation between ASEAN
and Japan
in the field of
security, as well as cooperation
with other nations to make all maritime regions become peaceful, stable
, less challenges and the parties should determine countermeasures to prevent this so that the
challenge does not lead to the risk of breaking
out military conflict.
To solve these security
challenges, Japan launched a number of
initiatives and specific proposals for cooperation with ASEAN countries on
non-traditional areas such as disaster relief, anti-piracy, search and rescue .... These countries
were particularly interested in maritime disputes
and affirmed that it must have a general
understanding of the law, there
is no double standard and no different perceptions about international law, acting by peaceful ways, do not use force or threaten
to use force; when a dispute occurs, the
parties should negotiate bilaterally
and multilaterally to solve problems.
Giving assessment
of progress in Japan-ASEAN relations in the
field of defense and security,
Deputy Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said that the first step
is for both
sides to reach a
consensus needs to work on security and beside
benefits it remains challenges. That is
the most important basis to arrive at a sustainable partnership. The second step is that ASEAN and Japan
have built trust purposes
relating to cooperation between the parties for
mutual benefit, peace and
stability. According to Deputy
Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh, countries
should cooperate more closely to the Code of Conduct on the South
China Sea for reassuring ASEAN,
partners and countries with interests in the South China Sea.
At the
meeting, the sides agreed
to take actions step by step
depending on the capacity of each country in order to ensure mutual benefits to all participating
countries. Specific contents
of cooperation that the 10 ASEAN countries and Japan can join including
collaborative activities on the sea,
rescue, industrial cooperation in defense to serve security and especially
cooperation to work out the general awareness about behavior on the sea
with peaceful means on the basis
of international law.
All comments [ 10 ]
Japan and ASEAN have agreed to promote bilateral cooperation and their partnerships with other countries, in order to ensure peace and stability in the East Sea and East China Sea,
the two sides concurred that all parties should implement measures to prevent challenging situations from turning into military confrontations.
They enjoy stable relations on the basis of equality and contributions to peace, stability and security in the region and the world
They have common concern over recent developments at sea, including the East Sea and East China Sea , which are attributable to the violations of international law and national sovereignty, affecting maritime security and safety, as well as freedom of trade.
ASEAN and Japan have developed a deep trust in their partnership.
The two sides should work together closely to develop a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
Japan is looking to help build the capacity of regional coastal states through the strategic use of its official development assistance (ODA)
ASEAN needs to increase its own ability to deal with a rapidly changing strategic landscape, which will require equally rapid capacity building on its part. Japan desires to maintain a favourable balance of power in the South China Sea because it is a vital sea lane for Japanese trade (especially energy imports).
Japan is seeking to promote direct arms exports to support the defence infrastructure of ASEAN countries.
Japan is significantly increasing its networks, communication and security cooperation with regional states by increasing its participation in these types of multilateral joint military exercises and training.
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