New Delhi: Defence Minister A K Antony will
embark on a four-day visit to Vietnam to attend the ASEAN
Defence Ministers meet beginning Sunday.
The meeting, to discuss regional security issues and
peace, will be held at Hanoi next week, in which 10 ASEAN
countries and eight non-ASEAN countries such as Australia,
China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia
and the United States will be present.
Antony will be accompanied by a high-level delegation
including Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar and representatives
of the three armed forces to the fifth ASEAN Defence Ministers
Meeting (ADMM)-Plus, a Defence Ministry press release said
here.
During the fourth ADMM held in last May, the ASEAN
Defence Ministers agreed to establish an ADMM-Plus forum
comprising the 10 ASEAN countries and eight non-ASEAN
countries.
ADMM-Plus seeks to address the regional peace and
security challenges by providing a balanced and inclusive
security architecture for the region as a whole and provide
opportunities to build mutual trust and confidence among the
defence establishments of the ASEAN and the Plus countries.
"We view our participation in the ADMM-Plus deliberations
as an aspect of our Look?East Policy and the larger objective
of our integration with the region," the release said.
On the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus, Antony would also hold
bilateral meetings with Defence Ministers of other countries.
"His visit to Vietnam will also be an opportunity for a
series of bilateral meetings with the Vietnamese Defence
Minister General Phung Quang Thanh and other Vietnamese
leaders for discussion on issues of mutual interest," it said.
Antony had toured Vietnam in December 2007. This was
followed by the visit of the Vietnamese Defence Minister to
India in November 2009.
PTI
First Published: Friday, October 08, 2010, 18:13