Vietnam proposes five solutions to reduce military tensions and establish long-term trust

Việt Nam đề xuất 5 giải pháp giảm căng thẳng quân sự và thiết lập lòng tin lâu dài

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense , Head of the Vietnamese delegation attending the 14th Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD-14) in the Republic of Korea. (Photo provided by the Ministry of National Defense)

At the invitation of the Korean Ministry of National Defense, from September 8-10, a delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense led by Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense, attended the 14th Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD-14) in Korea. Deputy Minister Hoang Xuan Chien also delivered an important speech at the Dialogue.

The SDD Dialogue is a major international forum on regional and world security, organized annually by the Korean Ministry of National Defense since 2012 with the participation of many senior officials, experts and scholars researching defense and security from many countries and international organizations. The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense sent delegates to attend all previous SDD Dialogues.

This year's SDD Dialogue was attended by more than 1,000 officials from 68 countries and international organizations. This year's SDD-14 includes 3 plenary sessions, 3 special sessions, expert sessions and 2 Working Group meetings on the sidelines of the Dialogue.

Vietnamese delegation at the Dialogue. (Photo provided by the Ministry of National Defense)

Plenary sessions include: Reducing geopolitical confrontation and restoring strategic stability; Reducing military tensions and establishing lasting trust; Enhancing future security through artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

In his opening speech, South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back emphasized that the world situation is undergoing many strong fluctuations, and geopolitical competition in the world is becoming increasingly fierce. The world is simultaneously facing new security threats, large-scale disasters, infectious diseases, terrorist activities using technology, fake news... In that context, strengthening international cooperation has become a more important and urgent task than ever.

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back delivers opening remarks. (Photo provided by the Ministry of Defense)

At the Dialogue, delegates discussed urgent global security issues, restoring strategic stability and building future security capacity.

In his speech at the 2nd Plenary Session "Reducing military tensions and establishing long-term trust", Deputy Minister of National Defense of Vietnam, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien highly appreciated the topic of the discussion session and emphasized that this is an issue of current and strategic significance in the context of the rapidly changing and unpredictable world today.

Vietnam's Deputy Minister of National Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien speaks at the Dialogue. (Photo: Provided by the Ministry of National Defense)

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien pointed out that in recent years, the world has entered a new period of instability, these challenges have caused countries to fall into a spiral of suspicion, declining strategic trust, leading to escalating military tensions and arms races. International historical experience shows that multilateral mechanisms and forums play an important role in reducing military tensions and building long-term strategic trust.

Currently emerging are the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, the Seoul Dialogue, the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Moscow International Security Conference and especially the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) have become important security dialogue mechanisms, helping to reduce the risk of strategic misunderstanding not only in the region but also at the global level.

Deputy Minister Hoang Xuan Chien emphasized that over the years, Vietnam has consistently pursued a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, is ready to be a friend and reliable partner of every country in the world, and is also an active and responsible member of the international community.

In the defense field, Vietnam has always adhered to the "four no's" policy, and considers transparency of military information, compliance with international law, and commitment to resolving disputes by peaceful means as the basis for building long-term trust.

Regarding the East Sea issue, Vietnam's consistent stance is that all maritime disputes must be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS-1982), fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and making efforts to soon reach a substantive, effective, and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that Vietnam always adheres to the "four no's" policy, and considers transparency in military information, compliance with international law, and commitment to resolving disputes by peaceful means as the basis for building long-term trust. (Photo provided by the Ministry of National Defense)

In order to reduce military tensions and establish long-term trust, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien proposed five groups of solutions.

First, it is necessary to comply with international law. Every country, big or small, must comply with international law, especially the United Nations Charter, international treaties, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and internationally recognized general principles of law.

Second, continue to promote multilateralism, promote the role of international organizations, and jointly maintain and expand strategic dialogue on defense, security and diplomacy at all levels - these are pillars in international relations. Dialogue helps to resolve misunderstandings, control crises and enhance cooperation. Forums such as the Seoul Dialogue have proven their value in creating a space for parties to exchange frankly and seek common ground, even when there are profound disagreements.

Delegates take a group photo. (Photo provided by the Ministry of National Defense)

Third , respect independence and territorial sovereignty. All countries, large or small, need to respect each other's independence, sovereignty and legitimate interests. Any unilateral action or imposition of power politics will only increase suspicion, conflict and hinder cooperation.

Fourth , increase transparency in policies and strategies. According to Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, there should be mechanisms to encourage countries to be transparent in their policies and strategies, as well as military activities such as large-scale exercises, freedom of navigation and aviation activities, etc., while promoting the establishment of hotlines to handle emergency situations.

Fifth, commit to cooperate, maintain peace and stability, and build strategic trust in the region and internationally. Countries need to strengthen and expand international cooperation in all fields, especially cooperation in responding to non-traditional security challenges.

In order to reduce military tensions and establish long-term trust, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien proposed five groups of solutions. (Photo: Provided by the Ministry of National Defense)

Concluding his speech, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien stated that reducing military tensions and establishing long-term trust is not only a political choice, but also an objective necessity to maintain peace, stability and development in the 20th century.

Vietnam believes that “when tensions subside, trust will sprout”, with sincerity, genuine trust and a sense of responsibility, all parties will work together to repel the risk of conflict, join forces to build peace, maintain a stable environment for cooperation and prosperous development for each country and for the whole world.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-de-xuat-5-giai-phap-giam-cang-thang-quan-su-va-thiet-lap-long-tin-lau-dai-327110.html