In his opening remarks at the 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Senior Lieutenant General Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, emphasized that international community must exert utmost efforts to achieve sustainable peace and security since the world has seen numerous flashpoints such as conflicts, wars and traditional and non-traditional security challenges.
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Defense Minister of Vietnam General Phan Van Giang delivers a speech at the 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. |
Given the global security initiative announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, Gen. Zhang said that this year’s forum’s theme “Common security, lasting peace” demonstrated China’s determination to cooperate with countries to actualize the initiative in order to ensure security for all nations in the context that the global situations are developing rapidly and unpredictably.
The 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum with many plenary and special sessions drew the participation of nearly 50 leaders from defense ministries, militaries, and numerous experts and scholars from countries and international organizations.
Addressing the second plenary session under the theme “Role of developing countries in global security,” General Phan Van Giang, underlined that all countries wish to have a comprehensive, connected, integrated, and harmonious security environment in all aspects. According to him, the interests and security of countries, large or small, developed or developing, need to be understood, acknowledged and respected for peace and growth.
Gen. Giang took ASEAN’s success as an example. As a regional grouping with most of its members being developing countries, ASEAN has practically contributed to managing and ensuring global security issues. On a regional scale, China - ASEAN cooperation has been developing fruitfully. Attentively, negotiation process to build a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) has achieved positive initial results, demonstrating the political determination of the parties with the goal of creating a substantive, effective and efficient code of conduct to uphold peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea (South China Sea).
COC not only addresses specific security issues but also specifies international laws, especially the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the commitments of relevant stakeholders, stressed Gen. Giang, expressing the belief that COC will help ensure regional security.
Also in his speech, the Vietnamese defense chief emphasized Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization, diversification, being a good friend and a trusted partner of all nations, an active and responsible member of the international community. He went on to say that Vietnam steadfastly follows its defense policy of peace and self-defense, not participating in military alliances or partnering with one country to fight against another, not allowing foreign countries to set up military bases in Vietnam or use its territory against other countries, and not using force or threatening to use force in international relations.
He also said through the Beijing Xiangshan Forum and other multilateral forums on military, defense and security affairs, and U.N. peacekeeping operations, Vietnam has affirmed its active, pro-active role and high responsibility in addressing global and regional issues. The Vietnamese official stressed that Vietnam's bilateral defense cooperation with other countries is conducted openly, transparently, and in a manner that does not harm the interests of other countries.
To jointly realize the aspiration of building a world of peace, cooperation, development and prosperity, Gen. Giang expressed Vietnam’s wish that all nations comply with international laws, respect independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests of each other. Countries, especially developing ones, should uphold “strategic autonomy,” respect diversity, uniqueness, and specific conditions of each nation while always looking toward unity and consensus in awareness, responsibility, and action towards global security issues.
According to the Vietnamese defense minister, each nation should fulfill its commitments, uphold its obligations to and responsibilities for the international community.
He concluded his speech by emphasizing that when noble political guidelines, international laws and justice are respected and enforced, the world becomes a common home where all countries are equal and live in peace, stability and development.
Also at the forum, Gen. Giang hoped to receive support from defense ministries, defense industry enterprises of countries to the second Vietnam International Defense Expo, scheduled to take place on the occasion of the 80th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army next year.
By Thu Trang from Beijing, China
Translated by Mai Huong