General Phan Văn Giang (centre), General Chansamone Chanyalath and General Tea Seiha sign the minutes of the annual meeting on Thursday in Kon Tum Province.—VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng.

KON TUM — The first Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia border defence friendship exchange officially began on Thursday morning with a welcoming ceremony for Lao and Cambodian delegations at the border junction of Việt Nam’s Kon Tum Province, Laos’ Attapeu Province and Cambodia’s Ratanakiri Province.

The welcoming ceremony was solemnly conducted under the chairmanship of General Phan Văn Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defence of Việt Nam.

The Lao delegation was headed by General Chansamone Chanyalath, Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Laos.

The Cambodian delegation was headed by General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Cambodia.

The organisation of the first Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia border defence friendship exchange aims to deploy the 2023 cooperation plan among the Ministry of National Defence of Việt Nam, the Ministry of National Defence of Laos and the Ministry of National Defence of Cambodia, contributing to strengthening political trust, building friendship and solidarity, and promoting practical cooperation between the three countries' border protection forces, local governments and people in border areas.

It also aims to build the Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia border of peace, friendship, stability, cooperation and development, conveying the message of solidarity, friendship and mutual support between the Governments, armies and peoples of the three countries.

Within the framework of the first Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia border defence friendship exchange, many activities were organised, including inaugurating the Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia Friendship Cultural House in Tà Ka Village; giving gifts to Bế Văn Đàn Primary School in Pờ Y Commune; and joint military medical exercises between the three countries' armies.

On Thursday morning, delegations of the three countries attended the inauguration ceremony of the Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia Border Friendship Cultural House in Tà Ka Village, Pờ Y Commune, Ngọc Hồi District, Kon Tum Province.

The construction of the cultural house was started on July 17, 2023. The two-storey cultural house was built with the Central Highlands communal house-style architecture. Funding for the construction was provided by the Ministry of National Defence of Việt Nam.

The construction is to be a symbol of solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the militaries and peoples of the three countries.

Also on Thursday morning, the delegations of the three countries visited and gave gifts to students of Bế Văn Đàn Primary School in Pờ Y Commune, Ngọc Hồi District in the Central Highlands of Kon Tum Province.

Speaking at the school, General Phan Văn Giang said he was very happy to know that local administration and the school’s management board were very interested and focused on disseminating and educating students about the tradition of friendship and solidarity between the three countries. For many years, the school had organised flag-raising activities at the boundary marker among the three countries, as well as visited and given gifts to the border protection force.

Giang said, “Today is a very special day when the Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia Border Defence Friendship Exchange is held for the first time at the border gateway of the three countries.”

The traditional relations and special solidarity among the three countries were increasingly consolidated and stronger than ever, he said.

“The special and rare solidarity is an invaluable asset that the young generation of the three countries, including the students of Bế Văn Đàn Primary School, will continue to preserve and cultivate," he said.

After visiting the school, the three countries' delegations together witnessed a joint military medical exercise at the intersection of Bờ Y International Border Gate's Toll Station in Ngọc Hồi District.

Recently, small earthquakes with high intensity have been recorded in the border area of the three countries.

Therefore, the military medical forces under the direction of the Ministers of National Defence of the three countries organised a joint exercise, coordinating with local medical forces to treat earthquake victims to proactively respond to natural disasters, as well as being ready to participate in medical relief on a regional and world scale when required.

Rehearsal activities include combined military medical command; action to rescue victims at the scene; soldiers trained to receive, classify, provide first aid, and treat victims at a mass casualty emergency station (deployed in an open field, with convenient roads, about 500m from the rescue site), and transport serious victims to the hospital by ambulance and helicopter (the helicopter landing site is 500m from the mass casualty emergency station). 

On the occasion, the annual meeting between the Ministers of Defence of the three countries as well as the signing ceremony of cooperation documents among the three countries were also set to take place.

At the annual meeting, the three Ministers of National Defence assessed that in recent times, the three countries' ministries of national defence have always coordinated closely and effectively deployed the common awareness of the three countries' senior leaders on military cooperation, national defence cooperation, achieving practical effects, notably maintaining the effectiveness of the Annual Meeting mechanism among the three Ministers of National Defence (established since 2012). The three countries' militaries conducted joint rescue exercises in Laos in 2022, and joint military medical exercises to respond to non-traditional security challenges within the framework of the exchange.

The Ministers of National Defence of the three countries affirmed that with the joint efforts of the three countries, the recent border situation had been kept stable. The border areas were secured, arising incidents were promptly detected and handled.

Regarding the direction of cooperation in the future, the Ministers of National Defence of the three countries agreed to focus on promoting cooperation such as strengthening the foundation of political trust, increasing exchanging delegations at high levels, effectively deploying mechanisms such as the annual meeting between the three countries' National Defence Ministers, the Deputy Minister-level Defence Policy Dialogue, increasing high-level meetings on the sidelines of multilateral events and forums, and educating the army, people, and especially the young generation about the history, meaning, and importance of the solidarity of the three countries and the three armies. — VNS