THE 7th IISS ASIAN SECURITY SUMMIT
SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE
Singapore
Sunday 1 June 2007
MODES OF SECURITY COOPERATION: CONFIDENCE-BUILDING, PARTNERSHIPS, ALLIANCES
Colonel General Phan Trung Kien, Deputy Minister of National Defence, Vietnam
As delivered - provisional transcript
Dear Dr John Chipman, dear guests! On behalf of the Vietnam Ministry of Defence, and from myself, I would like to sincerely thank the International Institute for Strategic Studies, in particular Dr John Chipman, and the government of the host country Singapore for inviting the delegates from the Vietnam Ministry of Defence to attend and speak at this important conference. On behalf of the Ministry of Defence and the People's Army of Vietnam I wish to take this opportunity to send our deepest condolences to the Governments, armies and peoples of Myanmar and China for the immense loss caused by the natural disaster recently. We hope that the government and people of the two countries will soon cope successfully with the impact, bringing the manufacturing industry back to its normal state, and stabilising people’s living conditions.
I would now like to speak about several aspects regarding cooperation in security matters for the purpose of building trust and partnership. Firstly, I will talk about global and regional circumstances, and the need to build trust and partnership. We are living at a time where the world is going through many complicated changes. But besides opportunities, there are considerable challenges against and difficulties with security, peace and stability. Peace, co‑operation and development are still an overriding trend. However, global and regional circumstances also bring about considerable challenges with hidden risks. Racial and religious conflicts, disputes over territories, seas, islands and natural resources, and the scramble for influence and power still continue. Terrorists still operate in many places, using varied and more complicated methods. Diseases, disasters, climate and environmental change, etc. are points to note. Besides, the instability on the financial market and the increase in price of food products and oil at a record level have directly affected millions of people on our planet and have left a negative impact on the economy and development of many countries. Pacific Asia in general and South-East Asia in particular is a region of a strategic significance. Dialogue and cooperation in the region is going strong at different levels.
Several Hot Spots, potentially conflicting, are still under control due to efforts from all sides to look for peaceful solutions through dialogue. However, the region is facing a considerable challenge, in both traditional and non-traditional security matters. Belonging to this dynamic developing area, ASEAN has had different modes of bilateral and multilateral co-operation, introducing positive and more effective steps. The partnership and cooperation within ASEAN have been intensified, aiming to build an ASEAN community based on three foundations: political security, economy and society and culture, cooperating more with the outside world and playing a leading role in regional cooperation. However, there are still hidden elements threatening security, stability and regional co-operation. If we consider the reality of global and regional circumstances, it is our view that countries should continue to move in the direction of achieving complete security, and increase co-operation and assistance among themselves in order to effectively repel challenges against traditional and non-traditional security. Vietnam is ready to become a trusted partner of other countries in order to work with and help one another; we are willing to learn from and exchange experiences, co-operate and share information in order to repel challenges and dangers against security, peace and development, while at the same time endeavouring to increase ways of building trust between the countries in the region. Secondly, Vietnam’s view on building trust and partnership is as follows. We realise that security and prosperity always play an important role; at the same time they relate to each other. Therefore, in order to effectively deal with challenges against security, the first essential point is that countries should create new opportunities for cooperation.
However, in order to come to effective co-operation between countries, building confidence and trust in one another must come first. We also believe that building trust is a continuous and ongoing process, which is necessary if we are to achieve true confidence and trust in one another. This lays the ground for sustainable co-operation. Building trust must ensue from specific actions and suitable policies. Cooperation should ensue as a result of mutual development and prosperity, respecting one another’s independence and sovereignty, integral territories, fairness and mutual benefit, respecting the United Nations Charter and international law, and complete realisation of bilateral and multilateral agreements. With our peaceful foreign policy Vietnam does not intend to associate in military affairs nor will it join one country to oppose another. We agree to the aim of building a secure ASEAN community as opposed to a military pack. On the South China Sea, territorial dispute is a problem which should interest all ASEAN countries as it affects security and stability in the whole region. We think that one important method of building trust is that the concerned countries should continue to fully comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and have a clear attitude aimed at the realisation of the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea (COC). Vietnam is patiently encouraging peaceful negotiation, on the basis of fairness, mutual understanding, respecting international law and the United Nations Charter and we would like other countries to do the same. Thirdly, I will discuss Vietnam’s contribution in building confidence and partnership.
Together with our active, dynamic and responsible attitude towards maintaining peace and security, Vietnam has made important contributions in activities aimed at building confidence and partnership in the ASEAN community. In particular, Vietnam has ratified the ASEAN Charter, marking an important step in regional and international integration. Vietnam has been an RAF member since its creation and we always actively and dynamically implement methods that facilitate the ARF progress, in particular those methods aimed at building trust in order to increase mutual understanding and for peace and regional stability, as well as participating in the information sharing process in the areas related to traditional and non-traditional security within the ARF framework. Recently Vietnam has dynamically and actively put in place a number of methods for increasing the building of trust and partnership among ASEAN members in defence and security making the appropriate steps. We also participate actively in cooperative activities in multilateral ASEAN defence and security, which include exchanging experience on the defence systems, fighting international crime, fighting against terror activities, showing readiness to participate in humanitarian work to protect against or mitigate natural disasters, as well as sending our observers to attend multilateral military exercises between countries in the region. We have set up hot lines, joint-patrols on sea and have joint-controlled border areas in order to prevent illegal border-crossing and entry etc. We have also attended ASEAN defence conferences such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting. Vietnam has organised an ASEAN military shooting contest and has also come up with a proposal for an Olympic league between the armies from ASEAN countries. Vietnam supports mutual ASEAN efforts in relation to participating in and broadening cooperative relationships in defence and security with outside partners through official and unofficial channels in order to play a part in maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world. We believe that the afore-mentioned activities from Vietnam have helped other countries understand us better, gaining trust from other countries and friends and playing an active part in the process of building and maintaining confidence in Vietnam from other countries in general and the countries in ASEAN in particular.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen. Vietnam follows with integrity a foreign policy of independence, sovereignty and openness, in a multilateral and multidimensional international relationship in the spirit of ‘being a friend and trusted partner of other countries in the international community’. In particular, since the beginning of 2008 Vietnam has successfully completed its missions in its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, gaining credibility among the international community. In the near future Vietnam will continue, responsibly and with practical methods and solutions, to contribute to building and maintaining confidence, trust and partnership between itself and other countries in the international community. May I thank you all for your attention.
