Vietnamese and Chinese military medical teams jointly provide medical check-ups for local residents. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG NINH — The 10th Việt Nam–China border defence friendship exchange opened on Wednesday, with events held in Việt Nam and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region through Thursday.

Vietnam’s delegation was led by General Phan Văn Giang, Politburo member and Minister of National Defence. China’s delegation was headed by Minister Dong Jun. The two sides are participating in activities in Việt Nam on Wednesday and in China on Thursday.

In Quảng Ninh Province, activities on Wednesday began with a welcome ceremony for the Chinese defence minister at the Móng Cái International Border Gate (the demarcation line on Bắc Luân Bridge I).

The two ministers will then take part in a range of joint engagements, including a friendship tree-planting ceremony at the border gate, the start of work on a medical station in Hải Sơn Commune, and visits to the Trần Phú High School and Trà Cổ Border Guard Station.

They are also scheduled to hold official talks before a send-off ceremony for the Chinese delegation on Bắc Luân Bridge II.

In China, the main activities scheduled for Thursday include a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Dongxing International Border Gate; a visit by the two defence ministers to a border guard company, where they will also plant friendship trees; and the launch of a joint patrol and training exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The two sides will also visit a commemorative stele, an exhibition wall highlighting the starting point of the Hồ Chí Minh Sea Trail, as well as local enterprises. In addition, the delegations will lay wreaths at a monument to fallen soldiers of the Việt Nam – China people’s revolutionary forces, before a farewell ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Dongxing International Border Gate.

A key element of the exchange is a combined naval patrol and training in the Gulf of Tonkin. Việt Nam deployed two vessels of 015 Trần Hưng Đạo and 012 Lý Thái Tổ from Brigade 162 of Naval Region 4 — to take part with the Chinese Navy.

The annual friendship exchange is a key defence-diplomacy platform between Việt Nam and China.

Organisers say the programme has expanded in both scale and substance, featuring a range of practical activities aimed at strengthening military-to-military ties and deepening bilateral relations. — VNS