The deputy defense minister made the confirmation in an interview granted to the press on the occasion of the first-ever Vietnam - Laos border defense friendship exchange, slated for December 12.
    |
 |
|
Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien |
Reporter: Would you please assess the situation on the shared border between Vietnam and Laos over the past years?
Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien: Vietnam and Laos share a borderline of more than 2,300km, with 10 Vietnamese provinces (Dien Bien, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, and Kon Tum) and 10 Lao provinces (Phongsaly, Luang Prabang, Houaphanh, Borikhamxay, Khammouane, Savannakhet, Saravane, Xiengkhuang, Sekong and Attapeu) on each side. The Vietnam - Laos border area is identified by the two countries as one of the areas with a very important strategic position in terms of national defense, security and socio-economy.
Over the past years, under the leadership of the two parties and states, ministries, departments, sectors, especially local Party committees and authorities, border protection forces and people along both sides of the shared border have joined hands to build a Vietnam - Laos borderline of peace, friendship, stability, win-win cooperation. In particular, Vietnam and Laos have closely coordinated in defending the border, protecting border markers, developing socio-economy in border areas, contributing to hunger elimination and poverty reduction, and preventing cross-border criminal activities.
However, the Vietnam - Laos border areas are facing challenges, including the sabotage of hostile forces who are trying to induce and incite local people, especially those from ethnic minorities to form the mindset of breakaway, free migration, and marriage without a marriage certificate. Together with that are cross-border crimes such as smuggling, drug trafficking, and other non-traditional security challenges such as epidemics. This fact sets a task for ministries, departments, sectors, local party committees, authorities, border protection forces and people living along the shared borderline to continue building and consolidating the Vietnam - Laos borderline of peace, friendship, stability, win-win cooperation, and consider this task a long-term strategic goal of both countries.
Reporter: Vietnam and Laos are preparing for this first-ever exchange. Would you please tell us about the main activities within the framework of the exchange? What are your expectations for this first-ever event?
Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien: The organization of the first-ever Vietnam - Laos border defense friendship exchange comes from the direction of the two parties and states on building a peaceful, friendly, stable, cooperative and developing Vietnam - Laos borderline. The exchange is also part of the defense diplomacy plans in 2021 of the two defense ministries.
The two defense ministries have directed relevant agencies and units to closely work with border localities to actively make preparation for the exchange. The two sides have jointly developed and agreed on the script and contents of the exchange. This first-ever event is going to take place in Huong Hoa district, Vietnamese province of Quang Tri and Seponh district, Lao province of Savannakhet with such a number of meaningful events as a sovereignty marker-saluting ceremony, a joint patrol between the two countries’ border protection forces, a visit and gift-presentation to Vietnamese and Lao students. During the exchange, the two defense ministers will hold talks and sign some important documents to boost bilateral defense cooperation and collaboration between the two sides’ border protection forces in the time ahead.
I believe that with the comprehensive, reality-based agenda, the exchange will open up an opportunity for the two countries to enhance the bilateral defense ties which have been identified as an important pillar of the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos. This will help strengthen the close-knit relationship between the two countries, especially the people in the border areas of the two countries, and at the same time raise the sense of responsibility of the two sides’ border protection forces to further their close, effective coordination in border and border marker protection, crime prevention and control, contributing to localities’ hunger eradication and poverty reduction and the building of a peaceful, friendly, stable, cooperative, and developing borderline between Vietnam and Laos.
Reporter: So far, Vietnam has regularly organized border friendship exchange at different levels with countries with shared borderlines. How do you evaluate the contribution of such an activity to bilateral defense ties in particular and bilateral relations between Vietnam and neighboring countries in general?
Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien: In recent years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnam People's Army in general and the border guard force in particular have constantly strengthened cooperation with those from neighboring countries with shared borderlines. They have conducted joint patrols, shared information, prevented illegal border crossings, crimes, cross-border epidemics. Exchanges and twinning activities at all levels have also been organized in various forms.
So far, Vietnam has hosted the Vietnam - China border defense friendship exchange six times, the “Friendship border exchange” three times, the first Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia border friendship exchange at the border guard command level, the first Vietnam - Laos border friendship exchange at the border guard command level, artistic exchange themed “Vietnam - Laos constant affection” at the border guard command level, among others.
In addition, with our recommendations, local party committees and authorities have boosted twinning activities between residential border areas, shared experience and organized cultural exchanges and supported each other in economic development.
These are creative, flexible, substantive and effective border exchange models between Vietnam and the three neighboring countries of China, Laos and Cambodia.
In the coming time, we hope to expand the aforementioned exchange models to countries in the Mekong Sub-region and ASEAN for one goal of peace, friendship, stability, win-win cooperation with neighboring countries sharing the borders in particular and with countries in the region in general.
The organization of creative, flexible, substantive and effective border friendship exchanges has once again affirmed Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, multilateralism and diversification of international relations with priority given to the relationship with neighboring countries with adjacent borders, traditional friends, strategic and comprehensive partners. These activities have also contributed to developing the bilateral defense cooperation between Vietnam and other countries in an intensive, effective and practical manner, thereby making an important contribution to strengthening the defense potential of each country and at the same time heightening the responsibility of ministries, departments, sectors, local authorities, border protection forces and people in border areas to join hands to build a borderline of peace, stability and win-win cooperation.
Reporter: Thank you very much!
Translated by Mai Huong