The event drew the participation of defense leaders from many countries, including the U.K., India, Bangladesh, Brunei, Colombia, Chile, Timor Leste, the Republic of Korea (RoK), the U.S., Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, France, China, Vietnam, and Thailand, among others.
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Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Binh and delegates at the conference |
CHOD is an annual activity held since 1998, aiming to strengthen cooperation, friendship and mutual understanding among militaries of countries in the Indo - Pacific region.
On the sidelines of the conference, Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Binh had a bilateral meeting with Admiral John Aquilino. During the meeting, both sides discussed contents related to this year’s CHOD event, shared their viewpoints about the international law observance, including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. The Vietnamese defense leader thanked the U.S. for inviting Vietnam to take part in the event in Fiji, hailing the Vietnam - U.S. bilateral defense cooperation over the past time. He also hoped that both sides would further bolster agreed cooperation contents in the time ahead.
During the conference, Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Binh also met with leaders from participating countries, namely Canada, Australian, the RoK, and the U.K. He took the occasion to show Vietnam’s support to the countries’ efforts in maintaining peace, stability and development in the region. He underscored that Vietnam hopes to boost defense cooperation with the countries, especially in the fields that each side has strengths and potential.
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Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Binh receiving General Angus Campbell, Chief of the Australian Defense Force |
He also talked with Senior Lieutenant General Xu Qiling, Vice Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Chinese Central Military Commission. On the occasion, the two sides agreed that the bilateral defense cooperation over the past time has seen fruitful outcomes. They will also make recommendations to higher levels to further beef up cooperation in the coming time, on the basis of the sound relations between the two parties and states.
Translated by Minh Anh