Army makes active contribution to national border marker construction and protection

PANO - The Ministry of National Defence has made great contributions to the national border marker increase and upgrade as well as the management of the Vietnam-Laos joint borderline. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ho Xuan Son, Chairman of Vietnam-Laos Joint Committee for Border Marker Planting answered questions during an interview with a reporter of the People's Army Newspaper.

Reporters: Could you please give the meaning of the project of the Vietnam-Laos border marker increase and upgrade?

Deputy Minister Son: The solemn ceremony held on March 16^th in Hanoi marked the fulfillment of the project of the Vietnam-Laos border marker increase and upgrade. From now, with new and modern markers, Vietnam and Laos have a clear borderline, which is a favourable establishment for the management of the two countries' shared borderline in general and the maintenance of peace and stability in border areas in particular. It is also clear evidence for the special friendship between the two countries and an outstanding model for regional countries when solving territorial disputes.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ho Xuan Son

Reporters: What is the contribution of the Ministry of National Defence during the implementation of the project?

Deputy Minister Son: The Ministry of National Defence has made a very important contribution to the national border marker increase and upgrade as well as the management of the Vietnam-Laos joint borderline. The army in general and the border guard force in particular directly undertook patrol and protection duties in the border area. The army force has always played roles as heads or deputy heads of the steering boards of border marker planting. The army clearly understands border terrain and locals' customs, thus they have always been   the pioneer and main force in border areas. We highly appreciated the contributions of the army and the border guards to the national border marker increase and upgrade project in general as well as the border management in particular.