Speaking at the Hanoi reception, PM Phuc thanked the governments and militaries of the countries for Vietnam and highlighted that Vietnam’s defense policy is for peace maintenance and self-defence, which is affirmed in Vietnam’ Defense White Paper 2019.
Vietnam persists the advocate of settling outstanding problems, differences and disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law; not joining military alliances, not joining one country against another, not letting foreign countries set up military bases or use Vietnam’s territories against others; and not using force or threatening to use force in international relations, the leader said.
He also affirmed that over the past 75 years, the VPA has continuously developed, adding that implementing the defence policy of independence and self-mastery, Vietnam attaches importance to developing and strengthening defence cooperation with other countries on the basis of respect to each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, for the top goal of peace, independence and development.
Foreign military leaders expressed their admiration for the VPA’s exploits and Vietnam’s national construction and development, and pointed to the VPA’s special characteristics, namely the combatant spirit and tradition. They also wished Vietnam to successfully shoulder the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020 and the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the 2020-2021term, and held that the implementation of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) mechanism helps ensure security in the region and the world over.
Thanking foreign guests for their fine sentiment, PM Phuc stressed that the current situation in the world and the region continues to see rapid, complex and hard-to-predict developments, adding the regional and global security challenges and risks are requiring joint efforts from all the countries inside and outside the region.
The Vietnamese Government and people highly value the outcome of the defense cooperation over the recent past between Vietnam and foreign countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, the leader said, stressing that the ADMM+ is the defense-security cooperation mechanism of the top importance in the region.
He also asked foreign countries to continue supporting Vietnam to successfully shoulder its ASEAN and UNSC roles.
Source: VNA