Vietnamese Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh has asked theFilipino President to further promote defence ties between the twocountries.
During a meeting with President BenignoS. Aquino III in Manila on August 27, General Thanh, who was on atwo-day visit to the Philippines at the invitation of FilipinoSecretary of Defence Voltaire Tuvera Gazmin, expressed delight at thefruitful cooperation between the two countries.
Hehighlighted the progress made in defence ties, while acknowledging thatmore needs to be done to improve things further. He raised thesuggestion that the countries share more of their experiences inprotecting maritime territorial sovereignty and exclusive economiczones.
Praising Vietnam ’s role in the region andthe ties shared between Vietnam and the Philippines , PresidentAquino said the visit of Vietnam ’s top defence leader willcontribute to foster the friendship between the two peoples and armedforces, benefiting both countries.
He pledgedsupport for the two militaries to fulfill all their agreements, whichare mostly focused on personnel training and cooperation between the twocoast guard forces.
Earlier on August 26, GeneralThanh held talks with his Filipino counterpart Voltaire Tuvera Gazmin.The two sides shared pleasure at their growing defence ties and agreedthat further cooperation is in the interests of regional peace,stability, cooperation and development.
They approved plans to exchange delegations at all levels and set up a deputy ministerial defence policy dialogue.
Both General Thanh and his counterpart agreed to boost theircooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief whilecontinuing mutual support at multilateral forums.
The Vietnamese defence minister thanked the Filipino Government and armyfor rescuing and helping Vietnamese fishermen in distress at sea, andproposed that the Philippines continue their humanitarian treatmentto Vietnamese fishermen violating its maritime sovereignty.
During his stay, the general also visited the Philippines ’s Coast Guard and the Vietnamese Embassy in Manila.-VNA