General Tia Banh is leading a Cambodian high-ranking military delegation to visit Vietnam from January 8 to 11 at the invitation of the Vietnamese Minister of National Defense.
The Vietnamese side in the talks with the Cambodian delegation includes: Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CCCPV), permanent member of the CMC, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense; Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh: member of the CCCPV, permanent member of the CMC, Deputy Minister of National Defense; and Major General Le Hien Van, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army.
General Ngo Xuan Lich and General Tia Banh held that the two sides have seriously implemented the 2016 cooperation plan, achieving its goals and objectives, especially in exchange of visits and training between border protection forces.
The two generals evaluated that collaboration between the two sides has been promoted with practical results. The two countries’ border military regions and border protection forces have been active in controlling situations and tackling violations along the shared borderline on time, not to give any chances for hostile forces to take advantage to sabotage and harm the relations between the two countries and armies.
According to the two generals, political stability and social order in the shared border areas have been maintained, facilitating socio-economic development in these areas. Meanwhile, search and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their lives in Cambodia have been implemented as scheduled. On this occasion, General Ngo Xuan Lich sincerely thanked the Cambodian Government and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) for always creating favorable conditions and supporting Vietnam in searching and repatriating remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their lives in Cambodia in different periods of war.
Relating to the cooperation direction for 2017 and the following years, the two sides agreed to boost education and communication on the friendship of the two peoples and armies on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (June 24 1967 – 2017), focusing on jointly organizing a contest on composing literary works to praise the friendship, and completing the restoration and upgrade of six Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Monuments in Cambodia.
Moreover, the two sides will increase information sharing to timely grasp and deal with emerging situations; promote cooperation between border military regions and border protection forces to maintain security, political stability, and social order in border areas; and foil all plots to take use of the border issues to distort and break the relations between the two countries.
Two ministers signing the cooperation plan for 2017 between the two defense ministries
General Ngo Xuan Lich confirmed that Vietnam would do its best to consolidate and nurture the good neighborhood relations, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable, and long-lasting cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia.
The two ministers agreed that, in 2017 and the subsequent years, the two armies should focus on exchange of visits at all level; deputy ministerial-level defense policy dialogues; officers training; joint patrol at sea; young officers exchanges; increase of search and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their life in Cambodia in different periods of war; promotion of management collaboration for land borderline of peace, friendship, and development.
At the talks, General Tia Banh expressed gratitude to the Vietnamese people and Army who sacrificed their flesh and blood to free Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge genocide regime in the past, and provide valuable, pragmatic, and effective assistance in training facilities and training for officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces today.
General Tia Banh reiterated that the Cambodian people and the RCAF always attach importance to the long-lasting good traditional friendship with the Vietnamese people and the Vietnam People’s Army and will try their best to maintain, nurture, and develop these good relations.
After the talks, the two generals signed the cooperation plan for 2017 between the two defense ministries; and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Institute of Military Strategy and the Cambodian Center for Military Strategy Studies.
Within the framework of the official friendship visit to Vietnam, the Cambodian high-ranking military delegation paid a courtesy call to leaders of Da Nang city.
Translated by Ngoc Hung