General Nguyễn Tân Cương, Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army, and Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, review the guards of honour at the welcome ceremony for the latter in Hà Nội on Wednesday. —VNA/VNS Photos Trọng Đức

HÀ NỘI — General Nguyễn Tân Cương, Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) and Deputy Minister of National Defence, has called for closer coordination with the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) to effectively advance their agreed cooperation areas.

Speaking during talks in Hà Nội on Wednesday with a visiting RBAF delegation led by Commander Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, General Cương emphasised the need to maintain exchanges at all levels, especially at senior ranks and to strengthen cooperation mechanisms such as consultations between armed forces and the Joint Working Group on military and defence cooperation.

He proposed expanding training collaboration and broadening partnership into promising fields including defence industry, logistics, military medicine, search and rescue, counterterrorism and cybersecurity. Both sides should also sustain consultations and mutual support within multilateral mechanisms, forums and international events organised by each party.

The RBAF delegation is on an official visit to Việt Nam from September 16-18 at General Cương’s invitation.

Both sides exchanged views on global and regional developments and shared concerns. The Vietnamese general expressed satisfaction with the progress of bilateral defence cooperation, citing advances in delegation exchanges, navy and air force consultations, naval port calls, professional exchanges, training and coordination at multilateral forums, particularly ASEAN-led mechanisms and international events hosted by both countries.

Cương stressed ASEAN’s central role in shaping and sustaining the regional security architecture while promoting practical cooperation among member states and external partners. He also praised the strategic document ADMM and ADMM-Plus Ready for the Future, co-drafted by Brunei and Singapore and adopted at the 2024 ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting, as well as the Critical Underwater Infrastructure Security (CUI) initiative jointly proposed by Brunei, Singapore and Thailand in 2025.

Turning to the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) issue, the Vietnamese deputy defence minister expressed hope that Brunei will continue to support ASEAN’s common stance on addressing disputes peacefully, in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

He highlighted the importance of fully implementing commitments such as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon finalising a substantive, effective Code of Conduct (COC) consistent with international law.

For his part, the RBAF Commander recalled his meeting with Gen. Cương on the sidelines of the 22nd ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting (ACDFM-22) in Malaysia earlier this month, where the two discussed bilateral defence cooperation.

Endorsing the proposals raised at their talks, he suggested the two armies explore additional fields of cooperation where both have potential and mutual interest, thereby further strengthening defence ties in the years ahead. — VNA/VNS