On the morning of April 17, within the framework of the 9th Vietnam - China Border Defense Friendship Exchange, General Phan Van Giang - Politburo member, Minister of National Defense of Vietnam - held talks with Senior Lieutenant General Dong Quan - Minister of National Defense of China.
At the meeting, Minister Phan Van Giang expressed his gratitude to Minister Dong Quan and the high-ranking Chinese delegation who visited Vietnam to attend the exchange program, and highly appreciated the presence of 27 Chinese veterans and experts who helped the Vietnamese revolution.
Minister Phan Van Giang said that the sideline activities such as medical examination and treatment, free medicine for people in the border area, exchanges between young students, young officers and localities have contributed practically to the implementation of the "year of Vietnamese -China humanities". In particular, for the first time in the framework of the exchange, the two countries organized a combined patrol on the Gulf of Tonkin waters.
The Vietnamese Minister affirmed that in recent times, bilateral defense cooperation has developed more and more substantially, becoming one of the important pillars in the bilateral relationship.
Notably, exchanging delegations at all levels, maintaining effective cooperation mechanisms, closely coordinating between border guards, navels and coast guard of the two countries in border management, crime control and supporting border economic development.
The two sides also strengthen cooperation in Party work, political work, between border military zones as well as in the field of defense industry. General Phan Van Giang emphasized that Vietnam always remembers the wholehearted and wholehearted help of the Party, Government and people of China in the resistance war for national independence.
Recently, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense has completed the restoration and embellishment of Chinese martyrs' cemeteries in Vietnam.
In the spirit of common perception between the two countries' senior leaders, especially after the state visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping, the two ministers agreed to maintain regular delegation exchanges, promote political exchanges, expand cooperation between military forces and promote other potential areas of cooperation.
Regarding the international and regional situation, the two sides shared common views on maintaining peace and stability.
Minister Phan Van Giang reaffirmed Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, multilateralization and diversification, in which special attention is paid to relations with neighboring countries, including China.
Regarding the East Sea, Vietnam maintains its stance on resolving disputes by peaceful means, in compliance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC). Vietnam hopes that China and ASEAN will soon achieve a truly and effectively Code of Conduct (COC).
On this occasion, Minister Phan Van Giang respectfully invited Minister Dong Quan and the Chinese delegation to attend the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) in Ho Chi Minh City, including a national parade and parade.
In response, Senior Lieutenant General Dong Quan highly appreciated the thoughtful reception of the Vietnamese side, saying that this exchange program is of great significance, organized right after the visit of General Secretary Xi Jinping, demonstrating the high political determination of the leaders of the two countries in strengthening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
At the end of the talks, the two ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of the twinning documents between Huu Nghi International Border Guard Station (Lang Son, Vietnam) and the Wu Tuong Conference Station (Guangxi, China), contributing to strengthening the actual cooperation between the border guard forces of the two countries.
