The two-day event, held by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung foundation of Germany, is part of the 12th general conference of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP). It draws more than 200 delegates, including over 100 foreign scholars and 35 diplomatic missions in Vietnam.
The workshop takes place amidst the changing and unpredictable international and regional situations, along with the growing strategic competition among superpowers in the region. It is meant to be a platform for Vietnamese and foreign scholars and policy makers to assess challenges and opportunities for countries in maintaining a peaceful, stable and prosperous environment and promoting regional cooperation.
Addressing the seminar, CSCAP co-chairmen Prof. Anthony Milner and former ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said as the world is in the transitional period, countries should step up building and consolidating trust so as to cope with increasingly complicated challenges.
Deputy Defence Minister of Malaysia Liew Chin Tong said amidst uncertainties in the region and fierce competition among superpowers, the role of middle powers and the centrality of ASEAN have become more and more important.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Quoc Dung said the Asia-Pacific is currently a region with the most dynamic development in the world, but it is also witnessing numerous traditional and non-traditional security issues, as well as the growing competition among superpowers. Therefore, regional countries should enhance cooperation and coordinate their policies to deal with common challenges.
Facing that fact, multilateralism and the enhancement of cooperation in global and regional multilateral mechanisms have become the top priority in Vietnam’s foreign policy, he said, noting that also given this, the country commits itself to building a more cohesive and responsive ASEAN when it holds the bloc’s chairmanship in 2020.
As Vietnam will also serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021, it vows to act as a bridge linking this global organisation with ASEAN for common goals, especially preventing conflicts and making sustainable peace, the official added.
