Viet Nam, ASEAN member states foster military cooperation

Meeting Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong underlined the similarities in interest between the two countries and the development of the bilateral strategic partnership.

Regarding the bilateral defense ties, he proposed the two countries maintain 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 Defense Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, Cuong stressed the importance of several key activities, such as the Viet Nam-Thailand defense policy dialogue at the deputy ministerial level and delegation exchanges.

He suggested the two countries further strengthen cooperation in areas like the defense industry, logistics, military medicine, search and rescue, and sharing experience in border management, pandemic prevention, and drug trafficking control.

Discussing ties with Vice Admiral Aaron Beng, Chief of Defense Force of Singapore, Cuong lauded the practical 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 said the two sides should foster delegation exchanges and maintain annual dialogue mechanisms and training cooperation.

At the bilateral meetings, the Vietnamese Deputy Minister 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 Viet Nam International Defence Expo in Ha Noi in December 2024, aiming to foster understanding and cooperation./.