Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Tân Cương and General Chalermphon Srisawasdi review the guard of honour on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Tân Cương, Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence on Wednesday morning hosted a welcome ceremony for General Chalermphon Srisawasdi, Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) who is on an official visit to Việt Nam.

During their talks after the welcome ceremony at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defence, Senior Lieutenant Cương affirmed that the visit holds a significant meaning, taking place in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 10th anniversary of establishing the strategic partnership.

This has contributed to creating new momentum for Việt Nam-Thailand defence relations.

Cương praised the effective collaboration in bilateral defence policy dialogues, Coast Guard, young officer exchanges, military cooperation, and consulting, supporting each other at multilateral forums and mechanisms led by ASEAN.

He sent thankfulness to the Thailand’s Ministry of National Defence and RTARF for actively participating in multilateral events organised by the Việt Nam People's Army in 2022 and continuing to send delegations of coaches and athletes to participate in the 2023 ASEAN Army Men's Volleyball Tournament organised by the Việt Nam People's Army in the near future.

Congratulating Việt Nam on successfully hosting the 23rd ASEAN Chiefs of Army Multilateral Meeting and the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2022, General Chalermphon Srisawasdi said he highly appreciated the cooperation between the two armies over the past time.

He affirmed that Thailand supports multilateral events organised by Việt Nam in the near future and expressed his hope that the relationship between the two armies will continue to develop further.

Both sides agreed to effectively implement cooperative activities with focus on exchanging delegations at all levels, maintaining existing cooperation mechanisms, including preparation of the fifth Việt Nam-Thailand defence policy diaglogue scheduled by the end of this year, and human resource training.

The two sides also vowed to foster cooperation in the fight against drug crimes and cross-border human trafficking crimes.

They agreed to conduct research on the possibility of expanding cooperation in a number of potential areas suitable to the needs and strengths of each side such as sharing management experience, border protection, combating illegal migration, combating drugs, transnational crimes, responding to non-traditional security challenges such as search and rescue, anti-terrorism, and share military experiences in poverty eradication.

The two defence leaders agreed to consult and support each other within the framework of ASEAN military-defence cooperation, and maintain ASEAN's common stance on regional and global security issues.

They affirmed that in the context of complex global and regional developments, ASEAN-led mechanisms continue to promote the bloc’s central role in the region as well as foster dialogue and cooperation between countries within the bloc and external partners for regional peace, stability and development.

They also emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea), resolving disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. — VNS