Expressing his pleasure at meeting General Phan Van Giang during the State visit to New Zealand by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, Rear Admiral Mathew Williams highly valued the political significance of the trip, which contributes to making bilateral relations more substantive and effective.
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General Phan Van Giang and Rear Admiral Mathew Williams. |
He said the upgrade of Viet Nam - New Zealand relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in February 2025, together with the current state visit, marked important milestones that opened up new opportunities for cooperation and created favorable conditions for the two militaries to further develop the significant potential of bilateral defense ties.
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General Phan Van Giang speaks at the reception. |
Rear Admiral Mathew Williams reaffirmed that defense and security cooperation remains an important pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and expressed confidence that cooperation in this field would continue to grow. He also thanked General Phan Van Giang for his active support in promoting the bilateral defense relations.
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Rear Admiral Mathew Williams talks with General Phan Van Giang. |
Sharing this viewpoint, General Phan Van Giang proposed that the two sides continue working closely to implement agreed areas of cooperation and translate common perception of their senior leaders into concrete results. He highlighted continued delegation exchanges at all levels, education and training, U.N. peacekeeping operations, and defense industry cooperation as key priorities. He also called for continued mutual support at multilateral forums, particularly within the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) framework.
General Phan Van Giang noted that bilateral defense cooperation still holds significant potential for growth. Viet Nam seeks to expand collaboration in war legacy settlement, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, search and rescue, military medicine, and cooperation among armed services and branches.
The Vietnamese defense minister expressed his hope that the New Zealand Ministry of Defense would consider offering more scholarships for language and specialized training in New Zealand, as well as sending English-language instructors to Viet Nam. In return, he affirmed that Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defense stands ready to receive New Zealand personnel for Vietnamese-language courses and international defense official training programs.
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An overview of the reception |
On this occasion, General Phan Van Giang invited leaders of New Zealand’s Ministry of Defense and New Zealand Defense Force, as well as representatives of the country’s defense industry enterprises, to attend the third Viet Nam Defense Expo in Ha Noi in December 2026.
Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, General Phan Van Giang reaffirmed Viet Nam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification. He also reiterated the country’s firm adherence to its “Four Nos” defense policy and its commitment to resolving conflicts through dialogue.
Regarding the East Sea (aka South China Sea) issue, General Phan Van Giang affirmed Viet Nam’s consistent position that disputes should be settled peacefully on the basis of respect for international law, particularly the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Viet Nam remains committed to fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and looks forward to the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
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General Phan Van Giang and Rear Admiral Mathew Williams present souvenirs to each other. |
Rear Admiral Mathew Williams, for his part, agreed that New Zealand and Viet Nam share similar views and interests in maintaining regional peace, stability, and development based on respect for international law.
Earlier, in the presence of senior leaders from both countries, the two sides exchanged an Implementing Agreement on peacekeeping cooperation, opening up new opportunities for collaboration in this field.
Translated by Minh Anh