On this occasion, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent member of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Defense Minister, answered the press on the exchange’s results and the Vietnam-China defense cooperation prospect.
Reporter: How do you evaluate the significance and results of the fourth Vietnam-China Border Defense Friendship Exchange, Mr. Deputy Defense Minister?
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh: The two-day exchange was seen as a success. We did conduct an array of activities in the exchange in Vietnam on the first day, including gatherings of border guards and visits to the two sides’ twinning hamlets on the shared border. Especially, this year’s exchange was the first time Vietnamese border guards in association with their Chinese counterparts performed an anti-terrorism exercise. It showed a clear common determination of Vietnamese and Chinese Parties, States and Armies to maintain a shared border of peace, stability, cooperation and development.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (L) and Senior Lieutenant General Fan Changlong
Senior Lieutenant General Fan Changlong, Politburo member and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, also Head of the Chinese high-ranking military delegation to the exchange, affirmed that sound activities on the shared border contributed to strengthening the bilateral solidarity as well as peoples’ living standards.
In return, on September 24, the Vietnamese high-ranking military delegation, led by General Ngo Xuan Lich, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Defense Minister of Vietnam, had talks with the Chinese high-ranking military delegation, headed by Senior Lieutenant General Fan Changlong, in Jinping district, Yunan province, China. During the meeting, General Ngo Xuan Lich emphasized that the two armies should continue such exchanges in the coming time in particular, and defense cooperation in general, to cement the bilateral defense relationship.
Reporter: Could you please elaborate on the Vietnam-China defense cooperation prospects in the future after the success of the exchange, Sir?
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh: As I said earlier, Vietnamese and Chinese armed forces carried out an anti-terrorism exercise as well as joined hands to build the Vietnam-China Border Friendship Cultural House in Po To hamlet, Huoi Luong commune, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province.
However, at their talks, General Ngo Xuan Lich and Senior Lieutenant General Fan Changlong agreed that the two sides must extend and deepen activities of further border exchanges. In the coming time, Vietnam and China may map out exchanges at military region and province levels, and boosting twinning programs among hamlets along the shared border. Additionally, the two sides are discussing joint programs to provide their border people with medical and anti-disaster support. I believe that with the determination of the two Parties and Armies, those intentions will come true.
Reporter: How does this year’s exchange influence the Vietnam-China relationship, General?
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh: The direct influence of the fourth Vietnam-China Border Defense Friendship Exchange is to contribute to ensuring security on the shared border as well as heightening mutual understanding between the two sides’ border guard forces in order to jointly implement their assigned tasks, such as firmly protecting each side’s territory, maintaining social order in the border areas and supporting local people.
These practical activities, particularly the defense cooperation ones, considerably contribute to strengthening mutual trust between the two Parties and Armies. From there, both sides will effectively deal with their existing differences, on the basis of mutual respect for each other and for international law, for the sake of the two peoples.
Translated by Van Hieu