Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (R) meeting with outgoing Cuban Defense Attaché to Vietnam, Colonel Ramon Balaguer Sánchez
The image of Cuban Commander-in-chief Fidel Castro raising the flag of the National Liberation Front in September 1973 in Quang Tri was a great encouragement to the Vietnamese troops and people during that fierce fighting period. His famous words: “For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to shed its blood,” will never be forgotten by any Vietnamese. The friendship and cooperation between the two Parties, Governments, peoples, and Vietnamese and Cuban millitaries have proven this.
The bilateral defense relations have been developing on par with the two countries’ friendship. In 1964, Vietnam opened it’s Defense Attaché's office in Cuba and Cuba reciprocated in Vietnam in 1966. During the war against the American aggressors, the Cuban Government sent a number of military missions to Vietnam to study and fight side by side with the Vietnamese. After 1975, the two sides started sharing experiences in people’s war. In the period from 1985 to 1992, Vietnam sent hundreds of military experts in local affairs, commandos, engineering, air defense, etc. to Cuba to assist the country with its territorial defense at all levels and enhance the training of their militia force.
Today, the defense relations have been deepened and become more practical. The two sides have promoted their cooperation in such fields as defense industry, engineering, air defense and air force, electronic warfare, cipher, officer training, etc. Cuba has highly valued the relationship by reliability, friendship, efficiency, which is suitable with the Cuban economic development and reality including that of defense industry, which was initiated several years ago but has become a pillar in the two countries’ defense cooperation. Vietnam has helped Cuba repair and manufacture military equipment and weaponry. Recently, the defense cooperation has gained some outstanding achievements in terms of exchange of visits, defense industry, training, air defense and air force, etc.
The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense has organized courses on Vietnamese language training, cipher, air defense and air force, and defense industry for Cuban officers. Meanwhile, Vietnam has also sent its military personnel to Cuba to study military medicine and engineering.
In the current context, the two militaries are expected to promote their cooperation in other fields.
Translated by Nam Long