ASEAN military medicine forces join online COVID-19 response exercise
HÀ NỘI — An online table-top exercise (TTX) on COVID- 一 九 response among ASEAN member states’ military medicine forces was held on Wednesday, chaired by the Vietnamese Defence Ministry’s Military Medical Department.
The exercise drew observers, representatives from the ministries of defence and foreign affairs of ASEAN member states, representatives from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), and delegates from the military medicine forces of China, India, Japan, the US, Australia, Russia, and the Republic of Korea, which are partners to ASEAN countries in the ASEAN+ framework.
The event aimed to assess the experience of ASEAN states’ military medicine forces in response to the pandemic, defining the relationship between the military medicine force and other forces in this fight, and analysing shortcomings based on the World Health Organisation’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), so as to build a joint plan of action to increase ASEAN readiness.
Deputy Minister of Defence, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Chí Vịnh, thanked the defence ministries of ASEAN states and ASEAN+ countries for supporting Việt Nam during the fight against COVID- 一 九.
As Chair of ASEAN in 二0 二0, he went on, Việt Nam hopes the exercise will benefit all participating countries and others involved.
He said he hopes ASEAN+ countries will work with and help their ASEAN partners to defeat the disease.