Unchanging values
There is a saying that history is a continuous flow, but the values that have been crystallized remain unchanged. This saying is also true for the Vietnam - China relationship.
More than 74 years ago, on January 18, 1950, Vietnam and China established their diplomatic relations. Through the ups and downs in history, the friendship between the two countries, cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong and generations of leaders of the two countries, has become a shared asset of both nations. This friendship is the bond that strengthens the relationship between the two parties, two states, and the peoples of the two countries.
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Leaders from the Vietnam and China Coast Guards present flowers to artists in the gala night on August 28. |
As neighboring countries sharing both land and sea borders, the cooperation in defense and security and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations are highly valued. Both sides have established numerous cooperation mechanisms in defense and security, with exchanges and cooperation between the VCG and the CCG standing out as a highlight.
Geographical proximity, cultural similarities, and especially the desire to create a peaceful and sustainably developed maritime environment, serve as the adhesive binding the maritime law enforcement forces of Vietnam and China. Since the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation was signed on June 27, 2016, the relationship between the two forces has been continuously strengthened and developed.
In recent years, the two forces have directed their units to carry out dozens of expertise sharing and political exchanges at the grassroots level. Ships of the two sides have conducted hundreds of joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin. The two sides have organized three Vietnam - China young coast guard officers exchange programs. The first "VCG and Friends" exchange program saw the positive and responsible participation of the CCG. The second edition is slated for December this year. These efforts have affirmed the forces’ significant efforts in nurturing friendship and understanding to support and assist each other in completing their missions. The exchange program on Party and political work this time has laid another "brick" to the foundation of friendship and cooperation between the two forces.
According to Lieutenant General Bui Quoc Oai, VCG’s Political Commissar, the first exchange program on Party and political was an initiative of the VCG to effectively implement the policies of the Party, State, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defense on international integration and defense diplomacy; enhance mutual understanding and political trust; strengthen the good traditional relationship between the coast guard forces of the two countries. This was also an opportunity for both sides to share and learn experience in conducting Party and political work from each other.
Through series of vibrant and diverse activities, such as courtesy calls on leaders of the General Department of Political Affairs, high-level talks between the two forces, and a political-cultural exchange gala night, the two sides have reached numerous common understandings and shared valuable experience in Party and political work. These activities have further deepened the good cooperative relationship between the VCG and the CCG, contributing to lifting the bilateral relationship to a more substantive and effective level.
Unforgettable journey
Joining the event for the first time, Captain Wang Jizhe, an officer of the CCG, said that the exchange program has left a deep impression on her and clearly felt the hospitality of the VCG. While attending an activity on the VCG’s ship 8004, she confidently sang the song "Vietnam - China Youth Song" as a duet with Nguyen Thu Thuy, Secretary of the Youth Union Organization of Dong Hai 2 ward, Hai An district, Hai Phong city.
Senior Colonel Hu Juxiang, Political Commissar of China’s Guangxi Coast Guard, believed that through this exchange activity, the friendship between the two forces will thrive, and the bilateral traditional friendship will deepen, contributing to the peace and development of the adjacent waters between the two countries.
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The VCG and CCG delegations and officers and soldiers of ship 8004 in a group photo |
Meanwhile, for Vietnamese coast guard officers and soldiers, the Vietnam - China Coast Guard exchange on Party and political work has helped them gain a clearer understanding of the responsibilities and pride of those who directly participate in building, maintaining, and developing the Vietnam - China friendship. Senior Colonel Pham Ngoc Tuyen, Head of the Organization Division of the VCG's Political Department, affirmed that this exchange program holds profound political significance, creating best conditions for Vietnamese and Chinese coast guard officers to exchange and learn effective methods and have valuable experience in researching, implementing, and organizing Party and political work, thereby enhancing the responsibility, duty, and confidence of revolutionary soldiers in building peaceful, stable, friendly, and developed maritime areas in the new situation.
The exchange program has sent a strong message of determination to further strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two forces with Party and political work holding important role.
Deputy Political Commissar of the CCG Major General Liu Houjie said that the Party and political work exchange has deepened the substantive cooperation between the two forces. He believed that the exchange and seminar activities within the framework of the program would help both sides enhance mutual understanding and raise the quality of Party and political work of the two forces. The CCG’s Deputy Political Commissar hoped that the coast guard forces of the two countries will follow the path of friendship set by the leaders of the two parties and two states, adhering to the “six orientations,” the “16 words” motto and the spirit of “four goods,” to further consolidate and develop the traditional friendship, contributing to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.
The history has proven that, under the leadership of the two communist parties, the peoples of Vietnam and China have given each other invaluable support and assistance during the struggle for national independence in the past and in the current socialist construction efforts. Generations of the Vietnamese and Chinese have stood shoulder to shoulder, supporting and helping each other, nurturing the traditional friendship between the two peoples. With this fine tradition, the exchange has reaffirmed the two sides’ desire and determination to elevate the cooperative relationship between the two forces to new heights, practically contributing to nurturing the traditional friendship and further develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China.
As part of the first program, on August 28, in Hai Phong, the Vietnamese and Chinese delegations visited the Coast Guard Region 1 Command. In the afternoon, the delegations visited and participated in a Party and political activity on Ship 8004 of Flotilla 11. In the evening, a gala took place in Hanoi, during which delegates from both countries together sang songs in praise of the solidarity between the two neighboring countries.
Translated by Tran Hoai