Vietnam, Cambodia look to deepen defence cooperation

Phnom Penh (VNA) - Deputy Minister of Defence, Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh on July 23 suggested Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence direct its military units to effectively implement annual protocols, cooperation plans and agreements signed between the two countries’ high-ranking officials and defence ministries.

In a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen. Tea Banh in Phnom Penh, Vinh conveyed regards of Vietnamese Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich to the host and briefed him on the results of the Vietnam-Cambodia Defence Policy Dialogue at the deputy ministerial level.

For his part, Tea Banh highlighted the significance of the dialogue in the context of complicated development of regional and global security.

He thanked the Vietnamese Defence Ministry for its organization of activities to mark 42 years of “the path to overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime” of Cambodia in Binh Phuoc province.

He asked the two sides to further enhance cooperation, towards deepening defence relations between the two countries.

Earlier, the 4th Vietnam-Cambodia Defence Policy Dialogue at the deputy ministerial level took place in Phnom Penh under the co-chairmanship of Vinh and Gen. Neang Phat, Secretary of State at the Cambodian Defence Ministry.

The two sides discussed international and regional security and political situation, cooperation of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ), and reviewed defence cooperation between the two countries as well as proposed measures to expand the ties in the coming time.

Vietnam and Cambodia agreed on the common perception of strategic issues affecting the security and politics of the two countries, and affirmed that the two sides should strengthen bilateral defense relations, as well as maintain and promote their comprehensive friendship and cooperation.

The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination in effectively implementing the contents of the annual Protocol and Cooperation Plan, with a focus on promoting security and political cooperation in the military, countering destructive allegations of hostile forces on social networks.

They will upgrade the border defence exchange mechanism into the defence ministry level, and continue their coordination in preserving friendship monuments, and well cooperate in organising border rescue exercises and border friendship exchanges between their border guard forces.

Both sides agreed that the defence policy dialogue mechanism is an important channel to build a common perception of regional security issues, and to build defence cooperation orientations between the two nations./.