Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Sen.Lieut. Gen. Phan Van Giang hosted an official welcome ceremony in Hanoi onApril 25 for Chinese State Councillor and Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Wei Fenghe, who ispaying an official visit to Vietnam from April 24-27.

During the talks held following the ceremony,Giang, who is also a member of the Politburo and Deputy Secretary of the CentralMilitary Commission, lauded the Chinese minister’s visit, saying that it shows the special attention of the ChineseParty, Government and Ministry of National Defence to promoting the sound traditionalfriendship between the two Parties and States as well as the two Ministries of National Defence in particular, for the interest of both peoples and peace,stability, cooperation and development in each country as well as in the region andthe world.

He congratulated China on the successful organisation of themeetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’sPolitical Consultative Conference, as well as the country’s announcement of thecompletion of the first 100-year-goal and the launching of the first year of the14th five-year plan, laying the foundation for the second 100-year-goal.

Giang briefed the guest on the success of the13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), underlining that the Party, State,Government and army of Vietnam always attach great importance to thereinforcement of traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic cooperative partnershipwith China, considering it as one of the top priorities in Vietnam’s foreign policy.
For his part, Wei affirmed that defence cooperationbetween the two countries is one of the important pillars, contributing to theenhancement of the friendship and partnership between the two Parties andStates, for the benefits of people in both countries and for peace, cooperationand development in each country as well as in the region and the world.

Both sides agreed that the year of 2020 witnessed complicated developments in the world andregional situation with great risks of instability, creating new challenges tothe trend of peace, cooperation and development and greatly impacting thesecurity and development environment of all countries.

They spoke highly the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020, notingthat through online meetings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the bloc gave manyinitiatives to strengthen cooperation and successfully organise major eventsfor the year.

In the defence area, dialogue mechanisms were maintained,helping to promote trust building, maintaining a peaceful and stableenvironment in the region, with outstanding events including the ceremonymarking the 10th anniversary of the ASEAN Defence Ministers'Meeting Plus and the 7th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting.

On the occasion, Giang thanked China forsupporting Vietnam in performing the role of ASEAN Chair in 2020 as well as inthe defence channel in particular.

Over the past 70 years since the two countries set up theirdiplomatic relations, despite ups and downs, the friendship and cooperationhave been the mainstream in the relationship between the two Parties andcountries, the minister said.

The consistent viewpoint of the Party, State and army ofVietnam is to build the long-lasting, stable and trustworthy friendship andcomprehensive cooperation with China, he stated, adding that Vietnam alwaysremembers the helpful support that the Chinese Party, Government and people havegiven to Vietnam during the past struggle for national liberation andreunification and the current process of national reform.

Lauding the efficient defence collaboration between Vietnam and China over thepast years, the two ministers agreed that the cooperation has been expanded throughdiverse forms and become more practical. Despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic,the two sides have still maintained flexible and effective exchanges, theynoted.

They held that in the future, the two sides should continue to implementcooperation spheres included in the signed agreements, especially the Statement on thejoint vision on defence cooperation to 2025 between the two Defence Ministries,focusing on the effective implementation of existing exchange and collaborationmechanisms, especially the defence strategy dialogue at the deputy minister level,and the Vietnam-China border defence friendship exchange, as well as Party andpolitical activities, and collaboration among armed forces, academies andschools.

As COVID-19 has yet to be completely controlled, the twosides should actively promote the efficiency of phone talks and onlineconferences to maintain discussions, they said.

Both sides also frankly exchanged views on a number of existing problems inthe bilateral relations. The Vietnamese minister affirmed Vietnam’spersistent stance of settling all disputes through peaceful measures on thebasis of respecting each other's legitimate rights and interests in line withinternational law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS), as well as the full and effective implementation of theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), while wellcontrolling disputes at sea and not complicating the situation, and not usingforce or threatening to use force.

Following the talks, the two ministers witnessed the signing of a memorandum ofunderstanding on the formation of relations between friendly units in internationaldefence cooperation between the two ministries.

The same day, General Ngo Xuan Lich, former Deputy Secretary of the CentralMilitary Commission, former Politburo member and former Minister of National Defence, hosteda reception for Chinese State Councillor and Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Wei Fenghe.

Within the visit’s framework, Wei and the high-ranking Chinesedefence delegation laid wreaths and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at hismausoleum in Hanoi./.