Lai Chau (VNA) – The fourthVietnam-China border defence friendship exchange programme is taking place in thenorthwestern province of Lai Chau and China’s south-western province of Yunnanfrom September 23-25.
Activities under the exchange programme areco-chaired by Politburo member, Vice Chairman of the Central MilitaryCommission and Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich on the Vietnamese side.The co-chair on the Chinese side is Politburo member and Vice Chairman of theCentral Military Commission Senior Lieutenant General Fan Chang Long.
The event is aimed at promoting friendship andsolidarity between local administrations, people and border guard forces of thetwo countries, thus enhancing political trust, enabling the sustainable andstable development of relations between the two countries and two armies.
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The Chinese delegation to the exchangeprogramme was welcomed to Lai Chau at a ceremony at Ma Lu Thang border gate inLai Chau’s Phong Tho district on September 23.
The same day, a seminar on the border defencefriendship between Vietnam and China was held in Lai Chau with theparticipation of the two co-chairmen Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and Sen. Lt. Gen. FanChang Long.
Participants shared their experience inexternal defence activities, policies to promote cross-border trade, and theestablishment of twinning relations between border localities.
They proposed measures to improve the qualityand efficiency of border defence cooperation in the time ahead.
Deputy Commander of Military Region 2 MajorGeneral Hoang Ngoc Dung said the region has coordinated with Chinese borderdefence forces to build the shared border line of peace, friendship and commondevelopment.
The armed forces of two sides have regularlyexchanged information and worked together to ensure social order, safety andsecurity in border areas, especially in preventing crimes and handling casesrelating to cross-border farming and migration, he noted.
Major General Zhang Jian from the ChinesePeople’s Liberation Army held that it is necessary to devise more practicalmeasures in the bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as joint exercises on fightingterrorism and violence and cross-border crimes, while expanding exchanges atthe grassroots level.-VNA