On the occasion, Senior Captain Nguyen Quoc Quang, Deputy Commander of Naval Region 3 granted an exclusive interview to the People’s Army Newspaper.
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Senior Captain Nguyen Quoc Quang, Deputy Commander of Naval Region 3 |
During the conversation, Sr. Capt. Quang affirmed the importance of the trips to the Naval Region 3 Command in particular and the Vietnam People’s Navy in general. They were to realize directions of the Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defense on international integration and defense diplomacy; raise troops’ ability to closely work together to respond to common maritime security challenges; further strengthen the sound relationship and cooperation between the Vietnam People’s Army and Navy with militaries and navies of other countries.
According to him, in the framework of LIMA 2023 and MNEK-4, Ship 20’s crew-members and the Vietnamese delegation participated in the international fleet review, humanitarian engineering, street parade, meetings on building exercise plans, exhibitions and fairs, visits to historical sites and scenery, sporting and artistic exchanges, and cuisine events, leaving good impression on the people and navies of other countries.
Notably, Ship 20 successfully completed contents in sea exercises within LIMA 2023 and MNEK-4 which, according to him, required troops’ thorough grasping of the plan, close and harmonious coordination among ships from more than 20 participating countries, troops’ mastery of equipment, and command capability to ensure safety and success of the events.
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Senior Captain Nguyen Quoc Quang, Ship 20's crew-members, and the Vietnamese delegation in a joint photo |
The deputy commander of Naval Region 3 said that the maritime exercise within the framework of MNEK-4, which took place from 4:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on June 8, was a test of the qualification and experience of troops of Ship 20. He added that Vietnamese crew-members fulfilled the exercise’s contents, namely communication, moving in formation, maritime interdiction, and saluting at sea.
Talking about the preparations for the events, Sr. Capt. Quang said that fully aware of the importance of this defense relations mission, the Naval Region 3 Command, under the direction and leadership of the Naval Service and the enthusiastic support from relevant agencies of the Ministry of the National Defense and the Navy, made careful and meticulous preparations of personnel, ship, technical equipment, and logistics; closely coordinated with relevant agencies to conduct the trips as planned and achieved the set goals and requirements while ensuring absolute safety in all aspects.
Since the Naval Region 3 Command is stationed in the Central city of Da Nang, its troops regularly participate in foreign activities whenever foreign naval ships visit the city. However, this was the first time that the command had sent a warship to join international multilateral foreign relations activities for 35 days. With a more than 5,000-nautical mile voyage, the trips have opened a new page in the history of Naval Region 3, affirming that it is capable of undertaking and successfully completing international multilateral foreign relations missions assigned by leaders of the Navy.
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Ship 20 in LIMA Sea Exercise (Photo: The Malaysian Navy) |
According to the deputy commander of Naval Region 3, the long voyage put high requirements on logistics and technical work and troops’ political stance and capacity. Thanks to the timely direction of higher levels, close coordination and enthusiastic support from relevant agencies, and rich tradition and experience of naval troops, Ship 20 and the Vietnamese delegation well completed all contents, meeting all set requirements, though they joined such international multilateral activities for the first time.
He said that Ship 20’s crew-members and the Vietnamese delegation fully and equally participated in the contents developed by the host countries as well as the sidelines activities; strictly observed regulations on military diplomacy, on ensuring internal security and safety in all aspects; built an image of a beautiful and friendly country, military, and people of Vietnam in the eyes of international friends.
Notably, during the voyage, Ship 20’s crew-members conducted different training contents to enhance troops’ ability, combat readiness capability, and mastery of weapons and equipment as well as their coordination in carrying out long voyages at sea.
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Participating ships performing a content within MNEK-4 (Photo: The Indonesian Navy) |
He concluded the interview by affirming that troops’ knowledge and experience gained during these trips would contribute to combat readiness training of Naval Region 3 in particular and the Vietnam People's Navy in general.
By Ngoc Hung
Translated by Tran Hoai