The call was part of the official visit of the VPA’s Chief of the General Staff to Singapore at the invitation of Chief of Defense Force of Singapore Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong.
At the event, the host congratulated Vietnam for successfully holding the second DPRK-USA Summit, which has raised Vietnam’s role and prestige in the international community.
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Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang (3rd from left) and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Heng |
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Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang presenting a souvenir to Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Heng |
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Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang welcomed by Chief of Defense Force of Singapore Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong |
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General Giang reviewing the Guard of Honor of the Singapore Armed Forces |
He appreciated the Vietnamese defense delegation’s visit, considering it a contribution to reinforcing and cementing the strategic partnership between the two countries. He also named regional challenges such as the East Sea issue and strategic competitiveness among powerful countries and hoped that Vietnam would actively propose good initiatives to strengthen the regional security structure when taking over the Chair of ASEAN in 2020.
The host also noted that the defense cooperation is one the most important pillars of the two countries’ relations, thus he would create favorable conditions to boost cooperation between the two armies in the time to come. Singapore will coordinate with and support Vietnam to successfully assume the Chairmanship of ASEAN, he added. On this occasion, he conveyed his greetings and wishes to General Ngo Xuan Lich, Vietnamese Minister of National Defense.
For his part, General Giang thanked General Ng Eng Hen for the warm reception and congratulated Singapore on successful performance of its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018.
He emphasized that during the Chairmanship of ASEAN, Singapore put forth many practical initiatives and made important contributions to promoting unity within the bloc and improving the position of ASEAN in the region and the world.
Later the same day, an official welcoming ceremony for the Vietnamese defense delegation was chaired by Chief of the Defense Force of Singapore Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong.
During his talks with the Vietnamese counterpart, General Melvyn laid stress on the fruitful friendship between the two countries, saying that the visit will contribute to further reinforcing the practical cooperation between the two armies, thus promoting bilateral relations.
In turn, General Giang affirmed that since 2013, Vietnam and Singapore have become strategic partners of each other and their defense cooperation has recorded positive developments.
Vietnam always attaches importance to defense cooperation with Singapore, he stressed, adding that the visit aims to discuss specific measures to further bolster cooperation between the two armies in the time to come.
The two senior officers agreed that the bilateral defense cooperation witnessed positive developments in various fields such as delegation exchanges at all levels, bilateral meetings on the sidelines of multilateral forums, personnel training, and so on.
They agreed to enhance exchange of delegations and visits, especially cooperation among the two countries’ forces at sea, effectively implement the signed agreements, and work closely in humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
The two sides will also maintain the mechanism of information exchange, and continue to consult each other at multilateral forums, especially those within the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), ADMM Plus, and the ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces’ Meeting as well as in the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.
Translated by Trung Thanh