Việt Nam, Cambodia foster defence cooperation

At the seventh Việt Nam-Cambodia policy dialogue in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Wednesday. — Photo from People’s Army newspaper

PHNOM PENH— Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoàng Xuân Chiến and Permanent Secretary of State at the Cambodian Defence Ministry General Chay Saing Yun have compared notes on defence cooperation orientations between the two countries while co-chairing a dialogue in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

At the seventh Việt Nam-Cambodia policy dialogue on Wednesday, Chiến affirmed the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability between the two countries.

The two armies and peoples stood side by side in the past struggles for national liberation, he said, adding Việt Nam always attaches importance and gives the top priority to consolidating and enhancing the relationship.

For his part, Chay Saing Yun said the dialogue demonstrates the close ties between the two armies, contributing to fostering the Việt Nam-Cambodia relations.

The two sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of shared concerns, and held that ASEAN-led mechanisms have maintained their role in promoting dialogues and cooperation within the bloc, as well as between ASEAN and external partners, for peace and stability in the region.

For maritime issues, Chiến emphasised Việt Nam’s advocacy of maintaining peace and stability, and ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea); settling all disputes by peaceful measures in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS); and effectively and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), towards building a substantive, effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law.

Both said since the sixth dialogue in April 2023, the bilateral defence cooperation has grown intensively, extensively, practical and effectively, with all-level delegation exchanges and meetings, personnel training, information exchange, and coordination in border management as well as in the search and repatriation of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who laid down their lives in Cambodia during the wartime.

They consented to continue such activities, while educating generations of soldiers and residents, especially youths, about the importance of the friendship between the two armies and peoples.

On this occasion, Chiến invited leaders of the Cambodian Defence Ministry and representatives of prestigious businesses in the neighbouring country to attend the Việt Nam International Defence Expo 2024, scheduled for December in Hà Nội.

The two officers then signed the minutes of the dialogue. — VNS