In the beginning of his speech, General Lich expressed deep gratitude to late leaders and commanders, fallen soldiers, and generations of the Vietnamese people, who have greatly contributed to the national development and defense cause. He also reaffirmed that there is no other country in the world like Vietnam that has been through prolonged wars but had been able to defeat strong powers. The Vietnamese people have gained great victories against strong enemies thanks to their solidarity, unity and patriotism, he stressed.
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Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich delivers a speech at a ceremony celebrating the 75th founding anniversary the Vietnam People’s Army and the 30th anniversary of the Whole People’s Defense Festive Day on December 21 in Hanoi. |
In addition, he said that under the sound leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, the strength of the Vietnamese people unity bloc has been increased significantly, contributing to the great victories in the Vietnam revolutionary cause in the 20th century.
Regarding the defense external affairs, the defense minister highly treasured the support from international friends and neighboring countries to the Vietnamese people in general and the Vietnam People’s Army in particular over the past. He affirmed that the Vietnamese military and people always appreciate these valuable assistance and will act to promote good relationships with their traditional partners throughout the world.
The defense minister also reaffirmed that Vietnam is consistent with the defense policy of peace maintenance and self-defense, and always want to address any disputes with other countries by peaceful means based on international law. He said Vietnam is keen on promoting bilateral relations with countries on the basis of ensuring independence, sovereignty, mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits, and for the interests of each country as well as for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
With good policies in the national construction and defense reinforcement, the Communist Party of Vietnam has been able to promote people’s synergy and gather support from international friends, contributing to firmly safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing the nation's and people's benefits as well as improving the country's position in the region and the world, he added.
The top defense leader said that 30 years since the birth of the Whole People’s Defense Festive Day, the Vietnam defense posture has been increasingly reinforced and strengthened. In particular, localities across the country regularly held defensive area exercises in order to promptly respond to emergency defense situations. The Party committees and authorities at all levels have paid much attention to building firm defensive structures, especially in mountainous and remote localities, while enhancing defense-security education for troops and people.
Apart from promoting the strength of the whole people unity bloc, the Party and the State also attached great importance to building a revolutionary, regular, elite and gradually-modernized military, deserving to be the key force in the national defense and construction cause.
The defense minister concluded his speech by highlighting the rapid and complicated developments of regional and global situations currently, which in his thoughts will pose challenges to the national construction and defense missions.
He said that the current situations put forward highly-demanding tasks for the national construction and defense cause, particularly improving military and defense strength, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for the country’s development, and firmly protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Translated by Trung Thanh