US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis (L) and Vietnam's Defense Minister, General Ngo Xuan Lich leave a meeting room in Ho Chi Minh city on October 17, 2018. (Photo by KHAM / POOL / AFP)THE proposed military exercises between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the United States will provide “completeness in terms of Asean engagement in the region,” an American Navy official said.“We look forward to engaging in this exercise with Asean. I think it provides…completeness in terms of Asean engagement in the region, as Asean hopes to engage with a number of partners in the region, though it may not be member states,” Admiral John Richardson, naval chief of operations, said in a telephonic conference on Thursday afternoon.Richardson said the Asean countries and Washington were still conceptualizing the exercises, which would serve as a “testament' to Asean leadership and stability.Asean defense chiefs and US Defense Secretary James Mattis agreed during their meeting in Singapore in October that details of the drills would be discussed in Thailand, which would host the Asean summit in 2019.Richardson’s statement comes as Asean and China concluded their first ever maritime exercises in Zhanjiang.The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) organized the drills involving more than 1,000 personnel on board eight ships and at the exercise Combined Command Post in Ma Xie Naval Base, according to the Singapore government.The Asean member countries are the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei Darussalam. DEMPSEY REYES
