Especially, the border external affairs are the highlight of the external defense relations, contributing to building the shared borderline of peace, solidarity, friendship, cooperation, and development with neighboring countries, enhancing defense and security, and firmly protecting the Fatherland.
In 2023, despite the complicated regional and global situations, together with other non-traditional issues affecting many countries, including Vietnam, the external defense relations and border external affairs were implemented effectively.
    |
 |
|
Lieutenant General Le Duc Thai, Commander of the Vietnam Border Guard, presents a gift to Lieutenant General Liu Zizhu, Deputy Chief of the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, on August 29, 2023. |
Accordingly, the Vietnam Border Guard Command and Party Committee directed troops to implement all directives and orders of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defense (MND) on border external affairs, in combination with implementing the Politburo and the Party Central Committee’s resolutions on international integration and defense external affairs.
Especially, the Vietnam Border Guard Command worked with relevant units to make recommendations to higher levels on the Border Guard Cooperation Protocol between Vietnam and Laos, Border Guard Cooperation Agreement between Vietnam and China.
One of the achievements of the border external affairs in 2023 was that Vietnam successfully organized the young border guard officer exchange between the Border Guard Commands of the Vietnamese provinces of Son La and Thanh Hoa, and the Lao Huaphanh provincial Military Command in March 2023; the second Vietnam - Laos young border guard officer exchange program in Ha Tinh province, Vietnam in June 2023; especially the first Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia border defense friendship exchange in December 2023, leaving deep impression of the solidarity and friendship on the three militaries and peoples. These activities contributed to promoting understanding, trust, and cooperation between Vietnam and other neighboring countries in general, and among their border protection forces in particular.
Last year, its affiliated units boosted cooperation with border protection forces from countries with the shared borderline to ensure security, social order and safety in border areas and border gates. The Vietnam Border Guard and the border protection forces of other countries have regularly exchanged to address arising issues in border areas and conducted 245 joint patrols.
|
|
 |
|
Border protection forces conduct joint patrol. |
At the same time, the people-to-people diplomacy work along the shared borderline was also maintained. Currently, there are 188 sister posts between the Vietnam Border Guard’s posts and border protection forces of neighboring countries. Besides, the Vietnam Border Guard also made recommendations to local authorities to organize 210 residential clusters between border people. They are also taking care of 75 Lao and 100 Cambodian students in the framework of the “Paving the way to school for children - Adopted children of border posts” program.
Furthermore, the Vietnam Border Guard Command coordinated with seven Vietnamese border provinces sharing borderline with China to organize exchanges and bilateral meetings for import and export activities, among others.
Source: Baobienphong
Translated by Minh Anh