(VOVworld) - Defence ministers and senior officials from ASEAN member states and dialogue countries are gathering in Brunei for a series of bilateral meetings and regional defence summit from August 27-29. The Vietnamese delegation is led by Minister of National Defence General Phung Quang Thanh.

General Phung Quang Thanh (Photo: VOV)

The ASEAN defence chiefs are scheduled to attend the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Retreat on Tuesday and the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting the next day which will see the attendance of ASEAN secretary general Le Luong Minh. They will also participate in an ASEAN-US unofficial meeting and other bilateral meetings.

At the second ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) slated for Thursday, delegates from ASEAN and its partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US, will focus discussions on progress made in five cooperation areas.

These include maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, peacekeeping missions and military medicine.

Delegates will witness the hand-over of the ADMM Chairmanship from Brunei to Myanmar and the signing of the meeting’s joint statement.