Beijing (VNA) – Gen. Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Vice Secretary of the CentralMilitary Commission and Minister of National Defence of Vietnam, had talks withSen. Lt. Gen. He Weidong, Politburo member and Vice Chairman of the CentralMilitary Commission of China, in Beijing on October 28.

Giang, who is on anofficial visit to China, affirmed that the Party, Government, army, and peopleof Vietnam always keep in mind the enormous assistance from their Chinesecounterparts for the struggle for national liberation and reunification in the pastas well as the national construction at present.

In any circumstances,Vietnam always holds the consistent viewpoint of attaching importance to buildingthe solidarity and friendship, long-term stability, strong mutual trust, andcomprehensive cooperation with China, he stated.

Vietnamis persistent in the foreign policy of independence self-reliance, peace, friendship,cooperation and development, and in the defence policy of “four no’s” – no military alliances, no siding with one country againstanother, no foreign military bases or use of the Vietnamese territory to opposeother countries, and no use of force or threat to use force in internationalrelations. It always views the maintenance of a peaceful and stable securityenvironment as one of the key factors of cooperation for common development,and welcomes all countries’ cooperation initiatives and mechanisms for thepurposes of peace, stability, common development, and common interests of theregion, the official went on.

Giang added that Vietnam highly values China’s major andglobal cooperation initiatives for common interests such as the Global DevelopmentInitiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative, and the Belt and Road Initiative.

For his part, He noted China attaches importanceto the consolidation and development of the comprehensive strategic cooperativepartnership with Vietnam.

Speaking highly of Vietnam’s“four no’s” defence policy, the host official stressed that defence cooperationis one of the important pillars helping promote the friendship and cooperationbetween the two Parties and the two States for the sake of the two peoples, aswell as for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in each country, theregion, and the world at large.

Both sides shared the view that a number ofcooperation activities between the two armies have been carried out in 2023after a long period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They held that there remains much room for theircountries to develop defence cooperation, and that in the time ahead, Vietnamand China should maintain frequent high-level mutual visits and meetings betweenleaders of the central military commissions and defence ministries, continue organisingthe border defence friendship exchange, step up sharing experience in the Party-relatedand political works in the armies, and consider expanding cooperation in suchfields as high-quality manpower training, the defence industry, strategystudies, military medicine, along with the areas matching the countries’strengths and demand.

With regard to the East Sea issue, they perceivedthat it is necessary to exchange opinions in a sincere and straightforwardmanner, properly control differences, jointly seek measures for settling issuesappropriately and in line with the common perceptions reached between the leadersof the two Parties and the two countries, fully implement the Declaration onthe Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon finalise an effectiveand substantive code of conduct on the waters (COC) matching international law.

During the talks, Giang invited He and other leadersof the Central Military Commission and the Defence Ministry of China to attendthe ceremony marking the 80th founding anniversary of the VietnamPeople’s Army and the second Vietnam International Defence Expo in late 2024.

The Vietnamese official also appreciated theinvitation to him to attend and address the ongoing 10th BeijingXiangshan Forum, expressing his belief that the event will be successful./.