Lieut. Gen. Le Huy Vinh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, made the statement at the ADMM Retreat that opened Tuesday in Hanoi.

"At the ADMM Retreat, defense ministers of ASEAN countries will discuss defense cooperation in 2020 and later. It also gives Vietnam a chance to promote its image, especially its People’s Army, to the world," Mr. Vinh said. 

The ADMM Retreat will include a plenary session and an informal meeting of ASEAN-Australia Defense Ministers slated for Wednesday.

The theme of ASEAN military-defense conferences in 2020, including the ADMM, is "Defense Cooperation for an ASEAN of cohesion and proactive adaptation.”

Accordingly, the priorities for ASEAN Year 2020 include promoting dialogue and defense-military cooperation within ASEAN and between ASEAN and its partners, proposing initiatives and new forms of cooperation to strengthen institutions, improve the capacity to coordinate common activities and revitalize existing cooperation mechanisms.

Other priorities are stepping up defense-military cooperation and accelerating the resolution of security issues, both traditional and non-traditional, transnational crimes, and maritime problems.