PANO – Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phung Quang Thanh on March 18th had a phone conversation with his Malaysian counterpart Mr. Hishammuddin Hussein, about the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which went missing on March 8th with 239 passengers on board.

The Malaysian Defence Minister thanked the Vietnam Defence Ministry for their active support in searching for the plane, saying that no traces of the missing plane were found. He added that Malaysia announced to halt the search for the plane in the East Sea, and widened the search to the northern and southern Indian Ocean. However, the Malaysian Defence Ministry needed further support of ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, for the country’s efforts to search for the plane.

During the talk, General Phung Quang Thanh felt sympathy for the Malaysian Government, Army and people, saying that right after receiving the news about the missing plane, Vietnamese Prime Minister, leaders of Defence and Transportation Ministries and relevant organs mobilized all of its forces, vehicles and equipment to search for the plane.

The Vietnamese Defence Minister affirmed that Vietnam would continue keeping a close watch on this case, and would inform the Malaysian Defence Ministry if there were traces of the missing plane. 

Translated by Tran Hoai