Vientiane (VNA) – Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam Peopl♑e's Army (VPA) and Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Tan Cuong held bilateral meetings with some delegation heads on the sidelines of the 21st ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces’ Meeting (ACDFM-21) in Vientiane on September 5.

Meeting Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr, Cuong underlined the similarities in interest between the two countries, and the development of the bilateral strategic partnership in politics, economy, national defence- security, education-training, culture and people-to-people exchange. Cuong highlighted the state visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in January, and its significance in consolidating political trust and comprehensive cooperation as both countries will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership in 2025 and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2026. For the bilateral defence ties, he proposed maintaining meetings and contacts at all levels, increasing exchanges and experience sharing, particularly among young officers, and maintaining coordination in response to non-traditional security challenges, as well as mutual support at multilateral forums and mechanisms in the time ahead. In his meeting with Gen. Songwit Noonpackdee, Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, Cuong stressed the importance of several key activities, such as the Vietnam-Thailand defence policy dialogue at the deputy ministerial level and delegation exchanges. He encouraged further cooperation in areas like defence industry, logistics, military medicine, search and rescue, and the sharing of experience in border management, pandemic prevention, and drug trafficking control. Discussing ties with Vice Admiral Aaron Beng, Chief of Defence Force of Singapore, Cuong lauded the effective cooperation between the two armies, which has contributed to celebrating the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties last year. He suggested fostering delegation exchanges, and maintaining annual dialogue mechanisms and training cooperation. At the bilateral meetings, Cuong extended invitations to military leaders of the countries to attend the celebration of VPA’s 80th founding anniversary, and send delegations to the ASEAN Military Music Exchange and the second Vietnam International Defence Expo in Hanoi in December 2024, aiming to foster understanding and cooperation./.