On July 4, at the Japanese Defense Ministry, Deputy-Defense Minister Ro Manabe and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Chi Vinh co-chaired the 6th Vietnam-Japan Defense Policy Dialogue.
The Japanese Deputy-Defense Minister affirmed that Japan always attaches importance to Vietnam’s role in the region, and wants to enhance the two countries’ cooperation in general and the bilateral defense ties in particular.
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At the dialogue. Photo: Vietnam+ |
For his part, General Vinh said that Vietnam and Japan share many similarities and mutual trust and have cooperated in many fields. That cooperation will contribute to the maintenance of independence, sovereignty and development of each country as well as peace, stability and prosperity in the Asian-Pacific region, thus benefiting people of both nations.
He said the 6th defense policy dialogue was held in an important point of time which was after a state visit to Japan by President Tran Dai Quang in May 2018 and an official trip to the country by Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich in April 2018.
General Vinh noted that this is an opportunity for the two sides to discuss measures to realize the common perceptions reached by the two countries’ leaders on enhancing defense cooperation.
During the dialogue, the two sides exchanged views on world and regional issues of common concern, agreeing that peace, cooperation and development is the common trend of all countries at present, and that all disputes and disagreements need to be resolved through peaceful dialogue, on the basis of international law, and without using force or threatening to use force.
Regarding the bilateral defense ties, the two Deputy-Defense Ministers said on the basis of the memorandum of understanding on bilateral defense cooperation and exchange signed in October 2011 by the Vietnamese and Japanese Defense Ministries and effective bilateral cooperation mechanisms, the two sides’ cooperation has continued to make fruitful and substantive strides as seen through mutual visits at all levels, exchanges between their air and naval forces, personnel training, and participation in United Nations peacekeeping activities. However, these cooperation outcomes have yet to match the two sides’ potential and expectation.
Basing on the signed cooperation documents, especially the Joint Vision Statement on Japan-Vietnam Defense Cooperation towards the next decade between the two Defense Ministries inked in April 2018, the two sides agreed that stronger efforts will be made to strengthen the defense ties and turn them into an important pillar in the countries’ extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.
They also reached an agreement on increasing all-level delegation exchanges, promoting the quality of the defense policy dialogue mechanism, and organizing consultations between the two countries’ naval, ground and air forces to boost result-oriented cooperation and mutual trust. They will also step up coordination and mutual support at defense-security mechanisms and multilateral forums, while bolstering collaboration in military medicine, cyber security, defense industry, UN peacekeeping activities, marine security, and search and rescue.
Moreover, the Japanese Defense Ministry voiced its support for Vietnam’s efforts to address unexploded ordnance and dioxin consequences left from the wartime, adding that it will soon carry out programs to help improve Vietnam’s capacity in this field.
The same day, General Vinh paid a courtesy call to Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera.
At the meeting, the Japanese official spoke highly of the importance of the two countries’ defense policy dialogue mechanism.
On this occasion, General Vinh conveyed Vietnamese Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich’s invitation to the Japanese Defense Minister to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time.
During his visit, General Vinh also had meetings with Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Kazuyuki Nakane, Deputy Secretary General of Japan’s National Security Secretariat Nobukatsu Kanehara, and Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ejima Shinya. During these meetings, the Japanese side highly appreciated Japan’s relationship with Vietnam and affirmed that Japan always gives active support to Vietnam’s national construction and socio-economic development and creates conditions for the development of the bilateral defense ties.
Translated by Chung Anh